News

Teams from the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) visited CAIS campuses on Oak and Turk Streets as the final step in our application process for reopening school. Pandemic Response Coordinator Adam Ross and I received a letter from Dr. Tomás Aragón, Public Health Officer from the City and County of San Francisco indicating that CAIS has received permission to reopen school for on campus, in-person learning.

A global pandemic. Deteriorating air quality from the now annual wildfires. In recent days I have asked my colleagues, somewhat rhetorically, “What next? Locusts? Killer wasps? A pack of emboldened coyotes roaming Hayes Valley?” Head of Middle School Joe Williamson informed me that a puma had been spotted in his neighborhood recently…

Making for an especially bright spot in the midst of these challenging times, I am delighted to share that the CAIS Class of 2020 had a banner year in high school admissions. The class not only applied to the widest range of schools of any class in the past six years, but also enjoyed record acceptance rates at many schools. We had a CAIS record (and possible City of San Francisco record) number of students accepted at Lick-Wilmerding (9), a tie (with last year’s class) for the highest number accepted at University High School (12), and the highest number accepted at Urban (6) in recent memory. Congratulations and well done to the Class of 2020! I want to give a huge shout out to Ms. MacLeod and Mr. Mosconi for their role in assisting the class achieve these great numbers.

Educational leaders have been working closely with teachers nearly around the clock to develop and prepare for our distance learning, and we have structured the effort in three phases. Our first phase comprises this week: Wednesday through Friday, we will focus solely on getting faculty and families connected and accustomed to working with the technology tools. These include:

We know from public health officials that the priority with COVID-19 is not simply keeping ourselves safe, given the increasing level of community transmission in the Bay Area, it’s also about our important role in mitigating the spread of the virus to safeguard our healthcare system’s capacity and protect the most vulnerable and at-risk among us. Accordingly, with the full support of the CAIS Board of Trustees, we are joining with school districts and independent schools across the Bay Area in an extended closure for students beginning Monday, March 16 to help stem community transmission. This decision was also reached in recognition that the behavior of this virus suggests that CAIS would no doubt be experiencing higher levels of absenteeism shortly. In such a case we would be unable to maintain both an in-school and a distance learning program simultaneously; we

Frequently exchanged at New Year, the blessing 望子成龙 wàng zĭ chéng lóng “May Your Child Become a Dragon” wishes a life of success for your child. With the hard-won wisdom that comes from four decades of pioneering Mandarin immersion, CAIS is distinctly positioned to define just what success looks like. Through decades of groundbreaking work in Chinese immersion, we have evolved from basic markers and metrics of success to a nuanced view of the whole child and, importantly, how they will make a difference in the world.