About
Cornerstone After School Chinese Program offers formal Chinese language arts classes in a 100% Chinese immersion setting, with teaching focused on what students can do with Mandarin Chinese. Students are grouped based on their age and language ability and move through four stages of development, from beginning and foundation levels to pre-advanced and an advanced Thursday night class. The program uses a research-based, dynamic curriculum that is regularly evaluated by a professional teaching team, with articles grouped in different themes and topics that connect to students’ real-life experiences, personality, and language proficiency development.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Thursday nights from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
The Thursday night advanced class is for middle school and high school students with intermediate, middle, or upper Chinese language proficiency, and it requires an entrance exam. Students in the Thursday night class are assigned self-study projects to complete after class time. The program includes a Chinese Language and Culture (CLC) class for intermediate students that covers Chinese language structures and characters, customs, proverbs, holidays, social phenomena, religion, poetry, geography, and folklore. A test preparation course is offered to prepare students for the SAT II Chinese subject test and the AP Chinese test administered by the US College Board, including vocabulary, sentence structures for performance tasks, model observation and practice, and test-taking skills. Clear grade-level learning standards and systemic, continuous assessment using a variety of sources over time are part of the program structure, and children develop Chinese language skills, knowledge, understanding, and attitudes through daily routines and first-hand experiences at Cornerstone. Two-day (Tuesday/Thursday), three-day (Monday/Wednesday/Friday), and five-day (Monday through Friday) options are available within the broader After School 100% Chinese Immersion Program, which includes four stages from Kinder beginners through the advanced Thursday night class.
Cornerstone states a mission to cultivate a learning environment where students are motivated to discover themselves, understand their fellow students, and understand the world around them, using bilingual education to support growth into self-disciplined critical thinkers. Cornerstone’s statement “nurturing bilingual critical thinkers” includes an aim for students to question, find truth, gather facts, analyze situations, communicate in both English and Chinese, and develop a sense of responsibility for their own actions. For most Cornerstone programs, Mandarin Chinese is the only instructional language, and in the full-day K–5 program Cornerstone follows a dual immersion school model with explicit goals for command of both Mandarin Chinese and English. Cornerstone is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The principal is Helen Wong, Ed. D. Cornerstone was founded in August 2010 at a family home in Los Altos with three families and two teachers, and the programs expanded and moved to Palo Alto in October 2010. Mr. Chen, one of the teachers, holds a master’s degree in Education from San Francisco State University with a concentration in teaching Chinese as a second language, was a certified Chinese teacher in China, and has over 18 years of experience teaching students individually and in group classes. Cornerstone offers a range of programs that span from the Mandarin Kids preschool to the advanced Thursday Night Program.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Thursday nights from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
The Thursday night advanced class is for middle school and high school students with intermediate, middle, or upper Chinese language proficiency, and it requires an entrance exam. Students in the Thursday night class are assigned self-study projects to complete after class time. The program includes a Chinese Language and Culture (CLC) class for intermediate students that covers Chinese language structures and characters, customs, proverbs, holidays, social phenomena, religion, poetry, geography, and folklore. A test preparation course is offered to prepare students for the SAT II Chinese subject test and the AP Chinese test administered by the US College Board, including vocabulary, sentence structures for performance tasks, model observation and practice, and test-taking skills. Clear grade-level learning standards and systemic, continuous assessment using a variety of sources over time are part of the program structure, and children develop Chinese language skills, knowledge, understanding, and attitudes through daily routines and first-hand experiences at Cornerstone. Two-day (Tuesday/Thursday), three-day (Monday/Wednesday/Friday), and five-day (Monday through Friday) options are available within the broader After School 100% Chinese Immersion Program, which includes four stages from Kinder beginners through the advanced Thursday night class.
Cornerstone states a mission to cultivate a learning environment where students are motivated to discover themselves, understand their fellow students, and understand the world around them, using bilingual education to support growth into self-disciplined critical thinkers. Cornerstone’s statement “nurturing bilingual critical thinkers” includes an aim for students to question, find truth, gather facts, analyze situations, communicate in both English and Chinese, and develop a sense of responsibility for their own actions. For most Cornerstone programs, Mandarin Chinese is the only instructional language, and in the full-day K–5 program Cornerstone follows a dual immersion school model with explicit goals for command of both Mandarin Chinese and English. Cornerstone is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The principal is Helen Wong, Ed. D. Cornerstone was founded in August 2010 at a family home in Los Altos with three families and two teachers, and the programs expanded and moved to Palo Alto in October 2010. Mr. Chen, one of the teachers, holds a master’s degree in Education from San Francisco State University with a concentration in teaching Chinese as a second language, was a certified Chinese teacher in China, and has over 18 years of experience teaching students individually and in group classes. Cornerstone offers a range of programs that span from the Mandarin Kids preschool to the advanced Thursday Night Program.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
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