It would be a great challenge to teach our kids Mandarin and Chinese culture. We all want our kids to be bilingual and multicultural, and to get the best from the eastern and western cultures. The beginning of the 21st century saw the birth of a new and exciting school.  Challenge School was a concept that was brought to fruition by its wonderful and caring management.  The school represents various Chinese ethnic groups as well as several Asian and East-Asia countries.  Despite these differences, Challenge has grown into a huge and loving family, everyone working towards a common goal. 

At present, Challenge School has 3 locations in the mid-peninsula.  There is a Belmont Campus, a Foster City Campus and a campus within West Elementary School in Hillsborough.  The summer of 2006 saw the launch of Chinese Language Camps in both San Carlos’ and Hillsborough’s Park and Recreation Centers.

We want Challenge school to be a fun place to learn Chinese and experience Chinese culture.
We are all immensely proud of the dedicated staff that has gathered together from over 8 nations to join with us in this bold educational experience known as Challenge School. The students also demonstrate great courage and creativity as they endeavor to become bilingual and multicultural. It is our hope that all will emerge into positions of leaderships throughout the society of the 21st century.

The future of our language and culture will depend on our commitment to work with parents, schools and city officials.  With our combined efforts, our children will be sure to grow into happy and healthy individuals with excellent futures.

Challenge school is committed to educating the whole person. We strive to unite the best elements of Eastern in addition to Western traditions and practices, the growth of the individual’s inquiring mind as well as cultivate a sense of personal responsibility and social welfare of all. Our curriculum is designed to be developmentally appropriate for each age level, rooted in bilingual education in multicultural environments.  We utilize instructional and information technology, fusing both Western and Chinese philosophies for character formation. Our holistic approach to education involves cooperation with parents, family, community and the world around us.

Provide a holistic education that nurtures the whole person

Uphold moral and spiritual values.
Affirming the worth and dignity of each individual while instilling in each student a caring attitude towards people and the environment
Nurture in each student an open outlook in life, respect for cultural diversity, the beliefs and values of all people, a sense of commitment and social responsibility
Provide a bilingual program that incorporate both Eastern and Western cultures so that students have an understanding on top of an appreciation of these two world languages and To develop each unique child’s potential and meet their needs by giving individual attention.

Principal and Executive Director - Mei Zhang

Welcome to Challenge school. I was a teacher as well as the first principal of Challenge School.  For the past two years, I've had the honor of being the Executive Director of Belmont Challenge School, Foster City Challenge School and Hillsborough Challenge School. I take great pride in continuing our vision, goals, and philosophy which remains the same today as when I first started Foster City Challenge School.
It is my belief that a successful education takes place in a warm, nurturing environment that maintains high standards, a challenging curriculum, and incorporates supporting enrichment programs.
It will be my pleasure to assist you personally as well as providing you with the opportunity to meet directly with the principal of Foster City campus, and the principal of Belmont campus. We are fully dedicated to the bilingual educational success of your child and are eager to meet with you to discuss your child’s admission to our school.

E-mail to Mei Zhang

Executive Director - Grace Yee

Greeting from Ms. Grace. I am not a teacher but joining Challenge was an easy decision because I want to help building a better school for my children. For many years, I worked at several corporations in engineering, sales, operations, and management. My previous work gave me extensive experience in different aspects of running a company.
After receiving an MBA from UC Berkeley, I decided to do something different -- something that can help the community as well as my own family. As a director at Challenge, I oversee the entire school's operation. My goal is to turn Challenge into an efficient organization while maintaining the esteemed visions, goals, and philosophies of the school.
I am fully dedicated in developing an innovative program and creating a nurturing environment for your child. I hope that my addition to Challenge will be a beneficial one, where your child can thrive here at Challenge.

E-mail to Grace Yee

Belmont Site Director - Kelly Chang

As a teacher for more than 20 years, I have often pondered on the words of Confucius, a great teacher of ancient China, ‘A teacher educates, instructs and dispels doubts.’  I strived to fulfill all the elements of being a teacher and at times, I am not sure if I can achieve such high standards.  However, when I see the smiles of the children I teach, I know that teaching is the most fulfilling element of my life.

As the site director of Belmont Challenge School, my goal is to create an environment where the children can be happy and parents can have the assurance that their children are safe and happy.  The same environment will allow my teachers to be focused on the children and their education.  I believe that all these elements will help create happy and well-adjusted children.

The instruction of Chinese Language and Culture is our focal point.  We hope that our children can be proud of their heritage by knowing the language and understand the culture and history of their ancestors.

E-mail to Kelly Chang

 

 

Challenge School has been welcoming students and parents of the Foster City / San Mateo school district since 2003.  In the 2006/07 school year, we saw the opening of the long awaited Belmont Campus.

In China, there are more than 50 minority groups and there are just as many spoken languages.  However, Mandarin - Putonghua (translates to commonly spoken) is the national language.  Most Chinese in the Untied States speak either Cantonese or Putonghua. 

At Challenge School, your child will learn Putonghua.  It is the official business language and most commonly used language.  Simplified characters will be taught as well.  Pin-Yin which is the Romanized phonics of Chinese will be taught at the higher levels.  

Bilingualism is a trait that most hope to achieve but very few do.  In order to move towards this goal, exposure to the language daily is the first step.  By hearing the language daily, children will start to accept it and become more interested in learning.

Of course, learning Chinese is not the only skill we hope Challenge School students will bring home with them.  We hope that they will learn the values and ethics of traditional Chinese culture as well.

Let us work together to help your children achieve.