With support from CAC, Chinese Culture Association of Southern California (Cerritos Chinese School) will (1) further promote community interest in Chinese cultural arts and language, (2) celebrate the Chinese culture with community members through a Fall Festival (free to the community) (3) continue to offer Lion Dance classes free of charge to diverse community members and free performances at various community events to share this art (4) provide scholarships to underserved families in the community for language and culture classes to increase accessibility to learning cultural arts and (5) improve our administrative systems by implementing an employee handbook that contains all the important information employees need, provide staff development and training and increase staff salaries to recruit, retain and train qualified educational staff and culture bearers.
Our Saturday morning program has been teaching the Chinese language in the Cerritos community for 50 years. CCASC currently offers 18 language courses that cater to a full spectrum of language skills. Our student body spans from preschool children to adults, from non-speakers to the more advanced students preparing for the AP or SAT II (accredited class). Complementing our language curriculum, activity classes are also offered to introduce students to various aspects of the Chinese culture. Some of our classes include Chinese knotting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese beading, Chinese folk dance, Chinese yo-yo, and kung-fu. All students are also encouraged to participate in a variety of community events (Cerritos Festival of Friendship, Artesia International Day, Chinese New Year Celebration) as well as compete in track and field, art, and academic contests with other Chinese language schools.