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As public schools flounder, private Chinese schools are booming

A man in a suit and glasses sits at a round table, smiling. Behind him is a wall scroll with Chinese calligraphy and an office background with books and decor.
Chris Livaccari, principal of Presidio Knolls School, said the Mandarin immersion program has grown over the past five years. | Source: Jungho Kim for The Standard

Chris Livaccari thought he had seen the rise and fall of Chinese-language instruction in the U.S. over the three decades since he began studying Mandarin. But San Francisco never disappointed him.

Livaccari, principal of Presidio Knolls School in SoMa, a private immersion facility offering Mandarin programs for preschool to eighth grade, said the student body has increased from 300 to 400 over the past five years.

“Nationwide, interest in Mandarin as a language has declined very sharply, mostly because of the U.S.-China relationship,” Livaccari said. “But we’re still seeing strong demand and strong enrollment for our program.”

The image shows an outdoor playground with children playing. It has a sandbox under a beige canopy, a garden area, play equipment, tires, and a large tree providing shade.
The private Presidio Knolls School offers Mandarin education from preschool through eighth grade. | Source: Jungho Kim for The Standard

The public school system in San Francisco, a city often mocked for having more dogs than kids, is struggling with declining applications and impending closures. However, private schools with Chinese immersion programs are booming, and new ones are opening to accommodate the demand.

Mandarin, the official language of mainland China and Taiwan, was a popular option for American students starting in the early 2000s, when China rose as a superpower and President Barack Obama encouraged Americans to study there and learn the language. As tension between the two countries rose during the Covid pandemic, the growth of U.S. Mandarin programs slowed.

San Francisco is a notable exception. Because of the city’s sizable Chinese community, its historical connections to the country, and the preponderance of affluent families interested in multilingual education, expensive immersion schools are more popular than ever.  

New schools, bigger campus

Chinese American International School, founded in the 1980s in San Francisco and considered the first Mandarin immersion school in the U.S., has undergone a major upgrade. It recently moved to a larger campus on the west side of the city, formerly Mercy High School.

CAIS has about 550 students, and the new campus will have the capacity for a bigger student body, school officials say.

“This year is especially exciting as we warmly welcome our largest ever class of little ones,” CAIS posted on social media as preschoolers arrived this month. The school will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late September.

Tuition at CAIS is up to $42,000 a year; Presidio Knolls’ is as high as $45,000.

Lydia So, an architect and member of the city’s Planning Commission, has a daughter at Presidio Knolls. She believes learning languages will help with brain development — and, more important, will make her U.S.-born, mixed-race daughter proud of her heritage and roots.

“I want her to appreciate the culture of being Chinese — unlike our previous generation, where everyone needed to fit into this melting pot,” So said.

Other schools are set to join the thriving market. Hiba Academy, a bilingual elite school with a capacity for 400 students, is expected to open in San Francisco in 2026. The parent company of the school, China-based Wellington College Education Group, spent $23.5 million purchasing land in the Design District, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report in July.

Joy Qiao, founder of Wellington College Education Group,  said in a statement to The Standard that the company is thrilled to make San Francisco the home of its first U.S. academy, noting the city’s special relationship with China and the Pacific Rim.

“This international city, with its commitment to cultural diversity and multicultural learning, is the ideal home for us,” Qiao said. “We look forward to meeting our neighbors and opening doors for our first cohort of students in the fall of 2026.”

Hiba’s Chinese name, 惠立(Hui Li), is an extract from a philosophical motto that translates to “Nurture talents with kindness and wisdom, establish virtue, and cultivate people.”

Meanwhile, Ann Hsu, a former commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education, launched a small school in Potrero Hill last year. The Bertrand Hsu Academy provides Chinese bilingual and bicultural education.

The image depicts a bright, organized workshop with wooden tables, stools, hanging crafts, tools on pegboards, and various storage bins and shelves lining the walls.
Workshops for hands-on learning, combined with Mandarin immersion, are selling points for Presidio Knolls, which charges up to $45,000 in tuition. | Source: Jungho Kim for The Standard
The image shows a cluttered workspace labeled "MAKER," with various utensils, jars, plants, and crafting supplies organized on a table and in bins.
The student body at Presidio Knolls has grown from 300 to 400 amid rising demand for Chinese immersion schools. | Source: Jungho Kim for The Standard

Public schools struggle

Mandarin education at public schools is headed in the opposite direction. Amid a financial crisis, the San Francisco Unified School District is poised to shut down schools and reduce language programs. Two elementary schools and one middle school offer Mandarin programs, with a total of about 380 slots, a slight decline from two years ago.

Cathay Bi, a parent at Starr King Elementary School, which offers a Mandarin immersion program, has been advocating for the district to keep the program. During the summer, she sent a letter to district leadership with hundreds of parents’ signatures asking to retain Mandarin programs amid high anxiety about school closures.

She points out that there’s a large population of families in San Francisco that speak Mandarin or want to learn it and can’t afford private school.

She said immersive education programs, in Mandarin and other languages, are what “you’d expect from a city like San Francisco.”

In addition to Mandarin, SFUSD offers about 1,300 slots for Cantonese immersion education. The city has a long history of immigrants from the Cantonese-speaking region of China. But at private schools, most of the Chinese immersion programs focus on Mandarin.

The district said in a statement that it is committed to providing language programs but declined to provide details on specific cuts, relocation, or consolidation of the programs as school closures loom.

Livaccari said Presidio Knolls has always welcomed former public school students, and the benefits go beyond learning another language.

“We don’t define ourselves as a Mandarin immersion school primarily,” Livaccari said. “It’s about helping to build mental flexibility and developing children’s global competency in their academic skills.”

Han Li can be reached at han@sfstandard.com