DCS in the Local News

Davis Chinese School marks 20th birthday                                           

By Jeff Hudson/Enterprise staff writer

The Davis Chinese School is turning 20.

"It gives you a chance to get totally deep into a whole different culture," said Ariel Boone, an 11-year-old who has been taking weekly lessons at the Chinese School since she was 5. "The language is a really nice language to learn. I think it's interesting to write in a whole different way. Most of the Chinese characters evolve from pictures. It's like looking at a whole page of artwork when you look at Chinese.

"And there's also Chinese dance, Chinese food and Chinese crafts," Ariel added.

The Davis Chinese school offers two tracks -- one for students who are coming from a non-Chinese background (like Boone), and one for students from Chinese-speaking families. Thirteen-year-old Cynthia He is in the latter category.

"For me, it's very valuable, because my family is Chinese," she says. "Learning how to read a little and write a little ... it's important to know where I came from. I also think the school itself is really wonderful. The teachers are dedicated to what they do, and care a lot about teaching students. And I enjoy it."

Cynthia's study routine involves "reading and writing, and learning new vocabulary -- learning to write it." That means learning the right stroke order for each character.

"We also study culture and history, including Chinese philosophers, and ancient China," she says. There's a lot of culture integrated into the vocabulary, reading and text.

When the school was organized in 1981 by a small group of Davis parents, the nonprofit program served about 20 students. The school now meets on Friday evenings at Davis High School, and serves about 150 students. The majority of students come from Davis, but there are also some who come from Woodland, Sacramento, Vacaville and Fairfield.

The school has its own library of books and educational videos, about 400 items in all.

Grace Dahmus was one of the school's founders, and has served as principal "off and on for 14 or 15 years," she says.

"We also have arts in class, like Chinese calligraphy, paper folding, and making various objects in the Chinese style. We also have a painter come and demonstrate Chinese painting," Dahmus said.

"Every year, we also take a field trip to places around Northern California where there were a lot of early Chinese settlers. We've been to the Delta town of Locke, to Sutter's Mill, to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay (where there is an old immigration station that served as a point of entry to the United States for many Chinese immigrants), and to China Camp State Park in San Rafael," Dahmus said.

"We also participate in the UC Davis Pacific Culture Night, the Picnic Day Parade, and events at International House."

Tuition is $70 per semester for the first child, with discounts for subsequent siblings. Parents assist teachers in classrooms and supervise activities.

For further information about the Davis Chinese School, e-mail Grace Dahmus at gkdahmus@ucdavis.edu.

-- Reach Jeff Hudson at jhudson@davisenterprise.net

Friday, March 1, 2002