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Tucson Chinese School
祖筍中文学校
Past Events
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The history of Tucson Chinese School (TCS) dates back to 50 years ago, but a better record was found since 1980s. The principal and vice principal back then were Ms. Jane Gee and Ms. Bonnie Lam. The school was located at the old Chinese Confucian Church on the 6th Street and 6th Avenue. Among those who were actively involved in the school programs, a group of young men known as “The Weekend Boys” was particularly outstanding. They were Jason Wong, Larry Leung, Ben Dong, Peter Chan, Kenneth Lee, Richard Fe Tom, Paul Lim and Kit Lam. These enthusiastic, hard working men worked on the Chinese Confucian Church and revitalized the building and classrooms on weekends.
With strong support from the community the enrollment of TCS students eventually outgrew the capacity of the classrooms in the Chinese Confucian Church. In the early 90’s the school was moved to Roskruge Elementary School on 6th Street west of Euclid Avenue. In 1993 Ms. Bonnie Lam became the principal and Kady Wang was her vice principal. Inez Lai was the treasurer; Julia Lee was the head of the parent association. Under the strong leadership the school grew rapidly. Moreover, the framework of TCS curriculum constructed during this period had served as a template for the future years to come. Classes for students from preschool through adult were offered. The teachers were both from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as born in the United States. Culture classes included singing (child/adult), martial arts, Chinese traditional dance, and painting. Language classes were conducted in Mandarin (traditional script only at that time) and Cantonese. The first semester saw 50 students and this number doubled by the end of the second semester.
The mid 90’s to the new millennium witnessed the continuing success of the school and the relocation to the Catalina High School. Six individuals served as principals for this period. They were Ling Wang, SuChi Ai, Jenny Du, Frankie Lim, Grace Chai and Christina Leung. Once again the school was fully supported by those who believed in the beauty and value of Chinese language and culture. Even to today, these men and women are working hard to ensure the school to fulfill its mission. That is to teach Chinese and promote Chinese cultural heritage among the Chinese American community and the community at large.
In the fall of 2003 Tucson Chinese School had to move to the Modern Language Building at the University of Arizona and rent classrooms from the university. David Yu and Carrie Fang were the principal and vice principal at that time. Despite the surge of extra cost for rental this year saw the highest enrollment of students in the history of TCS. One hundred and eighty students came to school every Sunday to learn Chinese language and culture.
A significant event occurred in 2005 with the completion of the Tucson Chinese Culture Center (TCCC) located east of the northeast corner of River Road and La Canada. This event subsequently announced the end of TCS renting period at the U of A. TCS moved in and became the biggest program of TCCC under the umbrella of Tucson Chinese Association. Ms. Ping Zhao and Ms. Carrie Fang were the first principal and vice principal working in the building of TCCC. Supported by the TCS Board of Directors led by Ms Joanna Yip, Ping and Carrie worked hard to enrich the curriculum, improve the class efficiency and nurture the scholarly environment. Soon TCS was well known as a local Chinese school next page
The history of Tucson Chinese School (TCS) dates back to 50 years ago, but a better record was found since 1980s. The principal and vice principal back then were Ms. Jane Gee and Ms. Bonnie Lam. The school was located at the old Chinese Confucian Church on the 6th Street and 6th Avenue. Among those who were actively involved in the school programs, a group of young men known as “The Weekend Boys” was particularly outstanding. They were Jason Wong, Larry Leung, Ben Dong, Peter Chan, Kenneth Lee, Richard Fe Tom, Paul Lim and Kit Lam. These enthusiastic, hard working men worked on the Chinese Confucian Church and revitalized the building and classrooms on weekends.
With strong support from the community the enrollment of TCS students eventually outgrew the capacity of the classrooms in the Chinese Confucian Church. In the early 90’s the school was moved to Roskruge Elementary School on 6th Street west of Euclid Avenue. In 1993 Ms. Bonnie Lam became the principal and Kady Wang was her vice principal. Inez Lai was the treasurer; Julia Lee was the head of the parent association. Under the strong leadership the school grew rapidly. Moreover, the framework of TCS curriculum constructed during this period had served as a template for the future years to come. Classes for students from preschool through adult were offered. The teachers were both from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as born in the United States. Culture classes included singing (child/adult), martial arts, Chinese traditional dance, and painting. Language classes were conducted in Mandarin (traditional script only at that time) and Cantonese. The first semester saw 50 students and this number doubled by the end of the second semester.
The mid 90’s to the new millennium witnessed the continuing success of the school and the relocation to the Catalina High School. Six individuals served as principals for this period. They were Ling Wang, SuChi Ai, Jenny Du, Frankie Lim, Grace Chai and Christina Leung. Once again the school was fully supported by those who believed in the beauty and value of Chinese language and culture. Even to today, these men and women are working hard to ensure the school to fulfill its mission. That is to teach Chinese and promote Chinese cultural heritage among the Chinese American community and the community at large.
In the fall of 2003 Tucson Chinese School had to move to the Modern Language Building at the University of Arizona and rent classrooms from the university. David Yu and Carrie Fang were the principal and vice principal at that time. Despite the surge of extra cost for rental this year saw the highest enrollment of students in the history of TCS. One hundred and eighty students came to school every Sunday to learn Chinese language and culture.
A significant event occurred in 2005 with the completion of the Tucson Chinese Culture Center (TCCC) located east of the northeast corner of River Road and La Canada. This event subsequently announced the end of TCS renting period at the U of A. TCS moved in and became the biggest program of TCCC under the umbrella of Tucson Chinese Association. Ms. Ping Zhao and Ms. Carrie Fang were the first principal and vice principal working in the building of TCCC. Supported by the TCS Board of Directors led by Ms Joanna Yip, Ping and Carrie worked hard to enrich the curriculum, improve the class efficiency and nurture the scholarly environment. Soon TCS was well known as a local Chinese school next page