Support Hanwen After School Chinese Relocation

Hanwen School is an after-school program offering quality Chinese language instruction to parents in Berkeley, Albany and surrounding cities. Their current site is being redeveloped and they need to relocate to a new site.

As we approach the holidays, Hanwen is turning its attention toward its upcoming relocation. Executive Director Ron is already working on buildout at the new location.

At this time I'd like to share my personal appreciation for Hanwen and the efforts Ron has given to the welfare of our children and their journey to a multilingual future. Learning a language and one as difficult as Mandarin has been something I personally have a strong commitment to, though I myself am a non speaker. As a parent who does not speak an Asian language, but whose child attends Hanwen, I am grateful for the existence of Hanwen.

My passion for learning language at a young age comes from my personal history. As an adoptee born in Korea, I was raised there speaking, reading, and writing in my birth language till the age of 7 when I came to America. It was a different era when assimilation was considered the best for children coming from overseas. Aware of this I wrote my Korean name on a scrap of paper for the last time the night I arrived in America and saved it. Three months later I was speaking English fluently, learning to read and write and without awareness I had forgotten my native language. As an adult I returned to learn Korean but so far...it’s been difficult to "relearn" despite it being my birth language.

Looking back on how quickly a child acquires (and forgets) a language compared to language acquisition as an adult, I vowed that if I ever became a parent, I was going to introduce a second language as early as possible. And of course being an Asian parent, it was going to be Mandarin, one of the hardest languages to learn later in teen years. I'm pragmatic. Korean would be great but Mandarin would have far more communication possibilities.

Schools that foster language development are of course limited and can be expensive. There are private schools, charter schools and afterschool programs. And like any service, there are varying degrees of efficacy and success. That success is directly related to the level of attention the students receive in a program. It's all about time spent in the target language.

Hanwen is a small school with 7 permanent staff members. Four are teachers (one is currently on maternity leave). The other two are Mandarin speaking teacher's assistants who run activities that reinforce reading, speaking and writing through story time, games, arts and crafts. If a child wants a snack, they need to ask in Mandarin. I am the ONLY non-speaker and I limit my interaction with the children to maintain as much target language immersion as possible. The teachers give intense attention to each student. Teachers tailor lessons to fit each student. It is not a one size fits all.

As such, Hanwen will always remain small and serve the community as a service to those who share the desire to raise multilingual children ready for the coming future.

Ron's commitment to moving Hanwen to a new location has been a personal decision, rather than a business one. He is an educator first and foremost and has an intense belief in the benefit of learning a second language and providing a community service that fulfills that objective.

Finding a new location with space classrooms and play areas and fit the logistical transport needs from the various schools as well as be SAFE has been a daunting one. But Ron found that location! And now having committed to the relocation as of Nov 1, 2023 when Hanwen's new lease took effect, we are faced with the daunting task of building out the new location with classrooms, HVAC system, electrical rewiring, kitchen, bathrooms, along with tear down of the current site right after Hanwen closes for winter break. Our goal is to reopen Jan 3 2024 at the new location and continue operations.

The cost of relocation and buildout is roughly $75,000 to $85,000 with additional initial leasing contract deposit and rent at $24,000. As a small community service, this is a considerable expense. The student tuition covers teachers' and staff salaries, rent and overhead. To facilitate this buildout, we ask for parent contributions to help cover the cost of this relocation and buildout.

As a final word, I thank each of our current and past Hanwen families who have committed to this shared goal of making our children multilingual. It is because of you and your children that Hanwen exists and will continue to do so for the coming years.

Cynthia Soito

Site Director/Hanwen Parent