St. Louis Modern Chinese School

The St. Louis Modern Chinese School (SLMCS, simplified Chinese: 圣路易现代中文学校; traditional Chinese: 聖路易現代中文學校; pinyin: Shènglùyì Xiàndài Zhōngwén Xuéxiào) is an American school teaching Chinese and Chinese culture. SLMCS is an active member of Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS) with some 150 member schools and more than 20,000 enrolled students. The school is located at 6710 Clayton Road in Richmond Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

It was established in 1997 by the Mainland China-origin community and at that time it had 40 students. By 2007 there were several hundred students.^[1]

Overview

St. Louis Modern Chinese School (SLMCS) was founded and is operated by a group of Chinese Americans. The school has registered as a non-profit Chinese language school and provides a facility that serves the St. Louis community. SLMCS is used as a part-time school for its students who are preparing for higher education and face ongoing global challenges. With continuous demand during the past few years, SLMCS quickly has become the largest Chinese school in the Midwest of the United States.

Through an integrated curriculum, students at SLMCS gain knowledge on not only the Chinese language and culture, but the perfect meaning of leadership and responsible citizenship in society. Students are encouraged to be knowledgeable on issues such as world globalization and culture diversity.

The school is open from 1:30pm–5:00pm on Sunday. The volunteers, public donations, and tuition support the schools’ activities.

History

The St. Louis Modern Chinese School was founded in 1997 as a family-oriented non-profit Chinese language school dedicated to teaching Chinese as a second language. The school was built to encourage the education of Chinese culture. Starting with about 80 students in 1997, the St. Louis Modern Chinese School currently has over 700 students enrolled, making it one of the largest Chinese language schools in the United States.

SLMCS originally offered very few electives, including dance, waist drum, and arts and crafts. Over the years, it began offering a number of other electives such as martial arts, math, art, etc. For example, it offered, for a period of time, an essay class whose finished works were published in the Chinese newspapers in St. Louis. Its math classes number among those that prepare students for the SAT II Math Subject Tests and those that prepare students for Math Contests such as MathCounts. SLMCS sent a team of students to MathCounts in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, the SLMCS team (composed of those students who had not been accepted onto the primary team of their respective schools) won 1st place but was unable to go on to State MathCounts because the school was not a Monday-Friday school.

Community Service & Contribution

Students perform Chinese Kung Fu at the University of Missouri–St. Louis in December 2005.

St. Louis Modern Chinese School promotes Chinese culture throughout the St. Louis area. SLMCS sets up numerous performances and activities at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and various other locations. Performances range from Chinese Gong Fu to fan dancing.

SLMCS also hosts a Christmas Gala every year, which may or may not have contributions from individual classes, who may choose to put on a play or similar performance.

Alumni

Graduates of SLMCS have (eventually) attended Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Washington University in St. Louis, MIT, University of Chicago, Duke, and Rice University. Graduates are also now fluent in Chinese.

See also

• Chinese in St. Louis

References

Notes

Sources

• Saint Louis Modern Chinese School

Coordinates: 38°38′04″N 90°19′02″W / 38.63433°N 90.31724°W / 38.63433; -90.31724