CAIS

Dear Friends,

What a fantastic year for CAIS! After settling down from the activities of last year’s 25th Anniversary, we re-focused our energy in our 26th year, doing what CAIS does best: providing quality education in all areas.

The strength of the CAIS program is evident in the outstanding achievements of our faculty, staff, and above all, our students. CAIS students showed their hard work through various awards and accomplishments. Students continued to stand out in math and Chinese competitions. This year students also made their mark in essay writing in English as 21 seventh graders had essays published in the Creative Communications Essay contest which earned CAIS a “Writing Achievement Award”. Throughout the year we had the pleasure of reading letters to the editor from our students published in the San Francisco Chronicle. More importantly, students showed their character in small gestures when helping a friend, and big gestures like raising money for individuals devastated by the earthquake in Sichuan.

The CAIS Institute has continued to take the lead in Chinese language education through a variety of initiatives. Professional development courses for educators and the new website provide a national audience with the tools to create successful Chinese programs. Extended student programming fills the gap in Chinese language education in Bay Area secondary schools. This year CAIS Institute’s High School Summer Intensive Program was the recipient of a prestigious STARTALK grant, a Presidential initiative to fund summer programs in critical languages. The Chinese Language Conference 2008 was our crowning achievement; over 500 national and international educators met to share resources, ideas, and experiences.

Fundraising was at an all-time high this year. We reached our fundraising goal of $1.5 million for the Capital Campaign by November, leading to a matching grant of $100,000 from the Herbst Foundation. This year’s ShowCAIS raised the record sum of $150,000, far surpassing the amounts from past years. Moreover, the Annual Fund exceeded the original goal of $425,000. These successes are in large part due to the efforts of parent volunteers, who put heart and soul into making phone calls, sending mailings, and selling raffle tickets. A heartfelt thanks to the generous parents, faculty and staff, alumni, trustees, friends, and foundations who gave donations; your support is instrumental to the success of our program.

There is much to look forward to in the 2008-2009 school year. The new Pre-K campus at 22 Waller Street is a major milestone for the school; we have continued to grow and expand as a healthy and thriving organization should. We anticipate new events, new opportunities, new achievements, and new memories.

The upcoming year holds just as much promise for success and excitement. Just as your support was instrumental in our success in 2007-2008, your continued support will make the difference in 2009. Thank you for all you have done.

Sincerely,

Andrew W. Corcoran
Head of School
Executive Director of CAIS Institute