CAIS Institute Celebrates Achievements in Chinese Language Education

SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The CAIS Institute, a leading resource for integrating Chinese language and culture into American education programs, today announced several significant achievements in 2008. The Institute recently concluded its second successful Chinese Language Conference, which drew a record number of educators and administrators to San Francisco. The Institute also announced that it was awarded a $43,000 grant from STARTALK for use in its High School Intensive Summer immersion program. Signifying industry recognition, Andrew Corcoran, Executive Director of the CAIS Institute and Head of the Chinese American International School, received the prestigious Global Citizen Award from the National Association of Independent Schools for his leadership in Chinese language initiatives. The non-profit's milestones reflect the growing national impact and relevance of Chinese language instruction in American schools.

While interest for Chinese language instruction in U.S. schools continues to increase, schools are facing the harsh reality of resource and talent issues such as lack of well-qualified teachers and language materials. To address these issues faced by schools across the country, especially at the pre-collegiate level, the Institute recently hosted the second annual Chinese Language Conference -- the nation's largest conference exclusively dedicated to promoting the teaching and learning of Chinese language programs in America. More than 400 educators, administrators and community members participated in the three-day event in March, which featured over sixty workshops and presentations in the field of Chinese language education.

The CAIS Institute received significant STARTALK funding for its High School Intensive Summer course. Addressing the need to increase foreign language education for under-taught "critical" languages such as Chinese and Arabic in American schools, STARTALK is a National Security Language Initiative project -- a multi-agency effort -- driven by the National Foreign Language Center. The $43,000 STARTALK funding allows the Institute to make the program available to students without the financial resources to pay for it independently. The funding will also allow the Institute to provide additional resources such as guest teachers and materials for onsite cultural workshops. For more information, please visit http://www.caisinstitute.org/en/students/language_programs/summer_intensive

"The CAIS Institute has garnered tremendous momentum into 2008," said Andrew Corcoran, Executive Director, CAIS Institute and Head of School, Chinese American International School (CAIS). "We are proud of the great response we've received for the Chinese Language Conference - a high-impact education event featuring nationally-renowned Chinese language experts along with hands-on teaching and curriculum workshops. We hope the conference along with other much-needed resources offered by the Institute will prepare educators and school administrators for the growing surge in Chinese language across the country."

Recognizing CAIS Institute's significant leadership in the field of Chinese language instruction, its executive director, Andrew Corcoran, was awarded the Global Citizen Award at the 2008 Global Education Summit (GES) on January 27. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) each year presents the award to an individual who has promoted global education to its member schools. Corcoran was acknowledged for his work both at the CAIS Institute and the affiliated Chinese American International School (CAIS), a preK-8 independent school in San Francisco.

About CAIS Institute:

The CAIS Institute, a nonprofit organization, represents the epicenter for integrating Chinese language and culture into American education. Founded in 1989 in San Francisco, the Institute is a leading resource for developing and sustaining Chinese language programs in American schools and collaborates with a broad range of organizations in the U.S. and China. Drawing on the Mandarin-English immersion educational model developed over the past 25 years at Chinese American International School (CAIS), the Institute continues to promote professional development, community outreach and educational programs. For more information, please visit http://www.caisinstitute.org.