Karis versus Irvine Chinese School

crest29

New member
Hi,

Looking into after school programs for my soon to be 5 yr old. Need something that will watch kid until at least 5 pm. Looking into Chinese schools, does anyone have experience with Karis Language Academy versus Irvine Chinese School and any thoughts?

Thank you
 
Cannot speak for Karis, but we prefer A Little Dynasty (campus on Alton/Gillette in Irvine).  They have after school programs for kids 4-5 years old.  Used both-ALD and SCCCA, found SCCCA campus more impressive but personal attention/instruction at ALD is better. ALD also separates kids by level, if possible, SCCCA a bit more bureaucratic, but manageable.  Staff is very goos at both schools.

If your child is a beginner, SCCCA is a good choice, but ALD classes are smaller and the environment is more intimate.  How serious are you about your child leaning Chinese?  How many times a week? Tour both schools and give it a try and see which one your kid likes better.

Veronica
 
Veronica said:
Cannot speak for Karis, but we prefer A Little Dynasty (campus on Alton/Gillette in Irvine).  They have after school programs for kids 4-5 years old.  Used both-ALD and SCCCA, found SCCCA campus more impressive but personal attention/instruction at ALD is better. ALD also separates kids by level, if possible, SCCCA a bit more bureaucratic, but manageable.  Staff is very goos at both schools.

If your child is a beginner, SCCCA is a good choice, but ALD classes are smaller and the environment is more intimate.  How serious are you about your child leaning Chinese?  How many times a week? Tour both schools and give it a try and see which one your kid likes better.

Veronica

I have experience at both A Little Dynasty and SCCCA. A Little Dynasty is good for little kids, lots of singing and playing games,learning spoken Chinese that way.  But when your kids are older, SCCCA is a more formal curriculum (for the Saturday and Sunday schools, not the after school) and at the high school level, can even get Chinese as a foreign language credits at your high school,  and take the AP eventually. A Little Dynasty population is mostly ABC parents, all speaking English to each other as they wait to pick up their kids. SCCCA has a much higher proportion of immigrant parents, and more traditional Chinese school format.  A Little Dynasty is a for profit school and MUCH more expensive than SCCCA which has a lot of outside sponsors, including, I believe from the Taiwanese government. There is a distinct Taiwan bent to SCCCA, likely due to its original founders from the 1970s. Though nowadays, they do offer instruction using simplified characters as well as the traditional characters.



 
Interesting perspective. Our experience has been diametrically opposite, though (we found SCCCA curriculum too easy). But it depends on the program/instruction.  IMHO, if your kid only takes Chinese Sat/Sun - that's just not serious and (eventually) is a waste of time. But that's just my personal opinion.  It is my understanding that ALD curriculum is also aligned with the AP Chinese and is quite rigorous.

Anyhow, the price.  We found SCCCA to be more expensive!  I think the easiest way is to get a price sheet and compare.  The class sizes at ALD are smaller, though. Both school are good. Its a matter of a personal fit. 

 
Veronica said:
Interesting perspective. Our experience has been diametrically opposite, though (we found SCCCA curriculum too easy). But it depends on the program/instruction.  IMHO, if your kid only takes Chinese Sat/Sun - that's just not serious and (eventually) is a waste of time. But that's just my personal opinion.  It is my understanding that ALD curriculum is also aligned with the AP Chinese and is quite rigorous.

Anyhow, the price.  We found SCCCA to be more expensive!  I think the easiest way is to get a price sheet and compare.  The class sizes at ALD are smaller, though. Both school are good. Its a matter of a personal fit.

Two years ago, ALD was $300 dollars a month versus $1200 for the entire YEAR for two kids.
Have they vastly changed their pricing? same thing, summer camps at least a couple thousand more for same number of weeks.
 
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