The Chinese School of San Diego is marking 100 years of preserving language and culture — and the people behind it say the mission continues to be critical in today's world.
SAN DIEGO — The Chinese School of San Diego is marking 100 years of preserving language and culture — and the people behind it say the mission continues to be critical in today's world.
The school was founded in 1925 in San Diego's Chinatown neighborhood, near Second and Market Streets. Natasha Wong, the school's superintendent, said this was during a period when the city was becoming the tuna capital of the world and Chinese fishermen were a significant part of the community. Wong was also a student at the school while her mother served as principal. She said the school's century-long legacy fills her with pride.
"I'm very proud of the tradition that we carry and follow from the early ancestors here in San Diego. I'm born and raised here in San Diego and I was also a student while my mother was the principal," Wong said. Her mother, Sally WongAvery, has been part of the institution for decades and remembers a moment in the 1980s when it nearly closed for good.
"They were out of steam, out of money, all the board members — you know, vote to close it," WongAvery said. WongAvery helped fund the school and brought new life back to the program. Today, the school operates on Ruffin Road, where students learn far more than just the Chinese language.
"Our school also has singing, because when you sing you get the right tone. The right pronunciation. We have calligraphy. We also have cooking in the kitchen," WongAvery said.
The school recently celebrated its Golden 100 Gala, honoring a century of academics and heritage. Principal Cassandra Wong said the milestone reflects a growing global need for cross-cultural understanding.
"Our world is becoming smaller and smaller. So global now. It's so important to learn another language, learn another culture, to also be more compassionate about other cultures and understand other cultures," Cassandra Wong said. The school is open to students of all backgrounds and ages.
For WongAvery, watching students grow into fluent speakers is the fulfillment of a lifelong purpose.
"Oh, very proud. I wanted to do this because number one, of course, to preserve our culture and our language. But at the same time, I look at the United States, look at San Diego — a lot of them are monolingual. So to me, I think we have to introduce this so that people will work together, live together.
And we, at the same time, nurture some good people," WongAvery said. This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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