Strategic Vision 2020-2025

Reimagining CAIS,
Reimagining Success

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. These lessons and community insights have led not only to the directives outlined in this Strategic Vision, they have also informed the evolution of our Mission and the codification of our Core Values of Curiosity, Kindness, Inclusion, Courage, and Perseverance.

Community-wide Process

Upon successful completion of the 2014–18 Strategic Vision, CAIS had seen tremendous progress and growth (including the creation of a new Middle School campus). Reflecting on having fulfilled the promise of that vision, the CAIS community looked to the future emboldened with an energized feeling of “What next?” Working closely with consultant Bill Jackson and the Board of Trustees, Head of School Jeff Bissell crafted a thoughtful, expansive, and inclusive process to tackle this heady question and build on the school’s enormous momentum and strength. 

In addition to scores of individual meetings with CAIS faculty and parents, the Strategic Vision process included the creation of a Vision Advisory Team with representatives from key constituencies (trustees, parents, teachers, administrators, staff, alumni, current students and even a peer educator). The Vision Advisory Team met monthly to review the Strategic Vision as it progressed and provide a vital sounding board for Jeff Bissell and the Board of Trustees. The entire community was invited to participate in a Strategic Vision Roundtable and in surveys. A number of deans at area high schools were interviewed to learn what qualities they saw in our students and what attributes were important to the institutions where our alumni will move on to after CAIS.

The firehose of valuable data that streamed in from these sources was funneled through successive rounds of review with the Vision Advisory Team, the Educational Leadership Team, faculty meetings, and the Board of Trustees. We are proud of our thoughtful, dedicated community and we hope that you see some of yourself and your contributions in this Strategic Vision. With the strength of experience and incredible community input, we are uniquely positioned to reimagine what success looks like. As illustrated by our Core Values, we have even reimagined dragons. 望子成龙 indeed!

重新构思中美，重新构思成功

过年时，大家经常说 “望子成龙”，意思就是希望自己的子女能在将来有成就。拥有四十年的中文沉浸式教学得来不易的智慧，中美很有资格给成功下定义。数十年来在中文沉浸式教育领域的不断创新，我们对成功的看法已经从基本的衡量标准演变为重视整个孩子的成长过程，更重要的是，重视他们将来能如何贡献给这个世界。这些累积的经验和社区成员的见解不仅帮助我们拟定了“策略愿景”中的方针，而且还进一步的为我们的办学宗旨带来新的面貌，更制定了中美的核心价值观 在成功完成《2014-18年策略愿景》后，中美获得了长足的进步与成长（包括建立了新的中学校园）。兑现了对此愿景的承诺，中美社区热烈地期待 “我们的下一步是什么？” 校长Jeff Bissell与顾问Bill Jackson以及中美理事会密切合作，打铁趁热，充分利用学校的广大资源，精心设计了一个周全、广泛而包容的流程，来研讨这个重要的问题。 除了与家长和教职员举行的个别会议之外，此“策略愿景”流程还包括成立 “愿景咨询团队”，团队的代表包括中美理事、家长、老师、行政人员、学校职员、校友、在校生以及一位教育同行。团队成员一个月会面一次来研讨《策略愿景》的进展状况，并为Jeff Bissell和理事会提供重要的意见和建议。整个中美社区成员都应邀参加策略愿景的讨论会议和问卷调查。此外，我们也对附近高中的行政人员进行了采访，来了解他们在我们的学生中看到了什么素质，以及他们认为中美学生还需要哪些重要特质来支持“后中美”阶段的学习。 愿景咨询团队、教育领导团队，学校的教职员工和理事会的成员透过许多程序来审核、整理并分析这些来自各方的宝贵资料。对中美思虑周到而尽心投入的社区我们感到非常自豪，并希望您能看到您自己在《策略愿景》中的贡献。 凭借着学校多年来丰富的经验和令人难以置信的社区投入，我们得以重新构思成功的定义。正如我们的核心价值观所呈现，我们实际上也给 “望子成龙” 下了一个新的定义

CAIS Envisioned Future

We envision new generations of passionate, reflective learners who lead meaningful and impactful lives across languages and cultures

中美看到的未来

我们预见不但充满热情

又能不断思考的新生代，

在跨越语言和文化的世界，

带领大家为有意义和有影响力的生活共同努力

Reimagining Immersion

Long Term Goal: CAIS students engage with confidence and purpose in both classroom inquiry and real-life situations through meaningful applications of Mandarin. Students appreciate and are aware of their own developing bilingualism and their ability to navigate varied cultural contexts. Through immersion they develop competencies that extend far beyond language learning.

Key Strategy: We will leverage time, staffing, and impactful pedagogy to enhance students’ engagement, enjoyment, enthusiasm, and language proficiency as they learn a variety of skills and disciplines in Mandarin.

Key Strategy: We will focus on innovative approaches to immersion aimed at intentionally cultivating cognitive, character, and cultural competencies—this is the “CAIS Immersion Bonus.”

Rationale: In order for students to engage in interesting and meaningful work in another language, they must develop requisite levels of proficiency and experience feelings of success. Likewise, in order for them to sustain their motivation and achieve high levels of proficiency, the work they do must be joyful and relevant to them in authentic, experiential contexts. Providing students a rich immersion environment with direct and comprehensible language input enables their Chinese proficiency to continually grow. Beyond language achievement, immersion in Chinese language and culture should be a vehicle to develop students’ problem solving and meaning-making skills as well as foster perseverance, humility, curiosity, empathy, connection to others, and a true appreciation of difference.

重新构思沉浸式教学

长期目标: 中美学生能在课堂探究学习和真实生活中，发挥积极投入的精神，展现自信的态度，并且有意义、有目的性地使用中文语言。学生对自己正在发展的双语能力，以及穿梭于不同文化背景的灵活度，具有极高的意识，并对这个学习机会表示认同与感激。通过沉浸式学习，他们发展出一套超越语言学习的多元能力。

主要策略：我们会充分利用时间、人员以及有效的教学方法，来提高学生运用中文学习各种技能，同时提高他们在学科上的参与度、乐趣、热情和语言能力。

主要策略： 我们会专注于使用创新方法来实践中美的沉浸式教育，并全心培育学生的认知、品格和尊重理解不同文化的能力—这就是“中美沉浸教育额外优势”。

理由：为了让学生能够使用另一种语言参与既有趣又有意义的学习任务，他们必须拥有相对水平的语言能力才能感受到在学习上的成就。同样的，为了使他们保持学习的动力并获得高程度的语言水平，他们的学习体验必须欢乐愉悦，而且要与学生真实的生活经验有所联系。当沉浸式教学环境充满丰富多彩的内容和直接、可理解的语言，学生的中文水平就能不断地提升。除了语言成就之外，沉浸式教育更是熏陶学生中文语言与文化上的媒介，用来拓展学生解决问题和建构意义的能力，以及培养他们塑造毅力、谦逊、好奇心、同理心、保持与他人的联系以及对彼此差异的鉴赏态度。

Reimagining Our Culture of Learning

Long Term Goal: CAIS fosters a culture of learning in both Mandarin and English characterized by inquiry, agency, perseverance, and joy.  Our culture supports the development of each student’s skills, abilities, character, and learning dispositions, so that they are able to adapt, thrive, and contribute to a world that continuously presents new challenges and opportunities.

Key Strategy: We will support our students in building the cognitive skills that deepen their ability to be adaptive and successful in school and beyond.  These skills include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, reflection, and communication.

Key Strategy: We will emphasize connections across languages and disciplines to connect learning, purpose, and meaning.

Key Strategy: We will build character through impactful curricula and programs to develop and nurture our students’ self-management, relationship-building, and decision-making skills.

Rationale: In a world where knowledge and information change and increase rapidly, coverage and assessment of a finite amount of discrete academic content will not serve our students well.  In order to welcome new opportunities and challenges with confidence and skill, we must provide our students with a rich learning environment that equally values and develops their academic, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Our students must be able to take control of their own learning, experiencing the joy and empowerment of a life in which learning is a continuous and never-ending journey. Students must be adept at assessing new situations, and with an understanding of their own strengths, challenges, and passions, choose a path forward that will help them to become their best selves and contribute to a better world.

重新构思我们的学习文化

长期目标: CAIS培养一种以探究、能动性、毅力和快乐为主的中英文学习文化。我们的文化支持每个学生的技能、能力、性格和学习方法的发展，使他们能够适应和成长，并不断为充满新挑战和机会的世界做出贡献。

主要策略：我们会支持学生建立认知技能，加深他们所需要的能力，以确保学生在学校内外都能够适应并且成功。这些技能包括批判思考、创造力、合作、反思和沟通。

主要策略：我们会强调跨语言和跨学科的联系，​​结合学习本身、学习目的和学习意义之间的关系。

主要策略：我们会通过具有影响力的课程和项目来培育学生的自我管理、关系建立以及决策能力。

理由：在知识和信息迅速变化的环境下，只是提供有限而分散的学习内容与评量，我们是无法协助学生的全面发展与成长。为了帮助学生获得自信与能力，迎接新的机会和挑战，我们必须为学生提供丰富的学习环境，促使他们的学术、认知、社交和情感技能均衡发展。我们的学生必须能够掌控自己的学习，体验生活的乐趣并且激发内在动力，来理解学习是一个持续、永无止境的旅程。除此之外，学生还必须善于评估新情境，了解自己的优势、挑战和热情，而且能够选择前进的道路，帮助自己成为最好的自我，最终为更美好的世界做出贡献。

Reimagining Our Community Connectedness

Long Term Goal: CAIS students, employees, and families contribute to, belong within, and grow together as a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and interconnected community that begins in the classroom and extends across grades, divisions, families, and the Mandarin immersion world.

Key Strategy: We will continue to grow a connected school community through sustained and measurable work in the commitments articulated by our stakeholders in the DEI Vision Statement.

Key Strategy: We will capitalize on our 19th Avenue campus acquisition to add community events, deepen community bonds, and create new, shared experiences for students, employees, families, and neighbors.

Key Strategy: We will leverage personnel and resources to broaden our role as leaders in the Mandarin immersion community, connecting to other immersion educators and advancing bilingualism and cultural appreciation and understanding.

Rationale: Our new, unified campus can serve as a physical place for students, employees, families, and neighbors near and far to come together and experience a sense of purpose and belonging. We believe the students’ charge to contribute to a better world can be best realized within an increasingly close-knit, connected, and supportive community of faculty, staff, and families.  As a pioneer in our field, CAIS also recognizes a responsibility and opportunity to connect with the larger Mandarin immersion community to share our experience, resources, and good fortune. 

重新构思我们的互联社群

长期目标: 中美的学生、员工和家庭在一个多元、公平、包容和互联的社群里一起贡献、获得归属并且共同成长。这个互联社群从教室开始建立，进一步延伸到所有年级、部门和家庭，最后扩展到整个中文沉浸式的领域。

主要策略：我们会继续遵守“中美DEI愿景声明”里的承诺，通过具有测量性的任务，持续创造一个“多元、公平和包容”的学校互联社群。

主要策略：我们会充分利用十九大道新校区开展多样化的社群活动，建立有意义的社群体验，并且强化社群里每位成员之间的关系。

主要策略：我们会充分运用人力和社群资源拓展中美在中文沉浸教育领域的影响力，带领其他沉浸教育工作者，共同推进对双语和文化的理解与认同。

理由：我们全新整合的新校区会成为每位成员的社群空间，以建立彼此的深度交流和对中美社群的归属感。我们相信中美的学生在一个紧密相连的社群里会成为更好的个体，以及为更美好的世界贡献自己的能力。身为中文沉浸教育的先锋，我们不但理解而且背负着在整个中文沉浸教学领域的领导使命。

Reimagining Our Learning Spaces

Long Term Goal: The CAIS 19th Avenue campus is designed and built with the flexibility to support current and future school and auxiliary programs and pedagogy that have a transformative impact on academic, cognitive, social, and emotional learning, school culture, community building, and financial sustainability.

Key Strategy: We will develop new school program opportunities including arts, sports, and experiences with nature that are possible with our new, 5.4 acre, 120,000 square foot campus. 

Key Strategy: We will utilize the CAIS campus as a physical community gathering place for students, faculty, and families and raise awareness of our presence on 19th Avenue to the surrounding community, including the Peninsula.

Key Strategy: We will generate revenue through leasing and programing of the campus facilities during non school hours and holidays in order to support and sustain school programs and operations. 

Rationale: “Reimagining CAIS” contains exciting ideas with transformative implications for our people and our programs.  We also must consider a third factor — place.  As we learned with the opening of the 888 Middle School campus in 2015, facilities can have a transformative impact on people and programs.  We must support the changes that the 19th Avenue campus makes possible by imagining, designing and building flexible educational environments indoors and outdoors that will impact learning, community, school culture, and financial sustainability.

重新构思我们的学习环境

长期目标: 中美19大道校区的设计和建造具有灵活性，足以支持学校当前和未来课后辅助项目的课程与教学。这些项目对学术、认知、社交和情感学习、学校文化、社群关系及财务的永续经营皆具有变革性的影响力。

主要策略：我们会在中美5.4 英亩、120,000 平方英尺的校园发展全新的学习项目，这些项目包括艺术、体育和户外自然体验。

主要策略：我们会善用中美新校园作为学生、教职员工和家庭的社群聚会场所，并且提高包括半岛在内的周边社区对我们在19大道校区的认识。

主要策略：我们会通过在非上课和假期期间规划校园设施租赁来增加收入，以利于维持学校的各种项目和运作。

理由：“重新构思中美” 对我们的员工和各种学习项目具有变革意义, 并且振奋人心。我们同时必须考虑第三个因素——地点。正如我们在 2015 年开放 888 中学校园中意识到，设施可以对人员和学习项目产生变革性的影响。我们必须通过构思、设计和建造灵活的室内外教育环境来支持新校园所带来的转变，进而促进学习、社群、学校文化和财务上的永续经营。