Asian Pacific Language School

I had pulled my child out of this school after few months. Unprofessional teacher who plays pop music to children and teaches them club dance for fun. However, the principal doesn’t seem care and lies all the time. DON’T send your child to this school if you don’t want people who have no experience of teaching or working with children to «take care of» your child.

My 2 children have been coming to this school since March, 2011 for preschool and granted, I’m not too sure how much Chinese they know since sometimes when I speak to them at home, they rarely respond back in Chinese… but there are times, when I’m «out» of the room, I do hear them speak to each other in a full sentence or two, so I’m feeling they are learning.
Prior to enrolling them, we did look at other schools, such as Washington Int’l School (WIS) nearby Factoria, but because of the layout and how small the classrooms/​playground was, no windows… we just felt it may hinder my kids mindset to want to learn.
With APLS, the classrooms are a good size, plenty of windows, and their play area is large enough to accommodate the kids’ playtime and freedom to run around. It’s fenced and I do feel secure, not to mention the tuition here is cheaper than WIS
The teachers and director, in my opinion have been informative and helpful, and I rarely felt any frustration or worry when leaving my kids there.
Sure, in the beginning when my kids started school, the separation anxiety kicked in for them. There were tears and crying, but the teachers were firm, yet compassionate. And when my child told me their day and mentioned about a boy in their class hitting them, which was a kind of a misunderstanding on my child’s part since they are the kind of kids who like their personal space and if a child is playing with them sometimes, and if that child touches them, both my kids protect each other, and they tell the other child not to «bother» their brother or sister.
I wasn’t too concerned, however I went ahead to email the teachers/​director about the possible incident. The following school day, the director spoke to me and we discussed the situation, and she was helpful. The teacher spoke with me and was concerned if my daughter was hurt or not… overall, we all had a good understanding.
The school itself, can be more organized a bit in certain ways, especially when they have families come together for an event at their school. I know it can be a bit hard since there are so many kids with their parents in a room at once and trying to get everyone’s attention, and the activities that they come up with can be a bit scattered, so at times, I think there is that lack of communication or assertiveness, but I know they try.
The curriculum that they have and the schedule that they go by, I think is helpful for the kids. Even though my children go just 2 days a week, and half days, to me. even if they don’t learn an abundance amount of chinese, it’s the fact that they are able to learn to socialize, learn good behavior, listen and follow rules, and get their exercise, is just as important to me at this stage… maybe eventually as they get older, I’ll have them take actual chinese lessons so that they can fully learn the language, but for now, I’m very content with having them attend this school for preschool.

Do not send your kids to this school! I sent my 2.5 yrs old child to this school, and had terrible experience with the teachers and principal. What I can say is that their way of handling feedback from parents, is unprofessional. The principal especially is very «protective» of her school, and would defend her teachers and her programs in her own perspective. I pulled my daughter out of the school after 5 weeks. Do not waste your money on this school. If you want your kid to learn second language such as Mandarin or Japanese, consider elsewhere! Hope my review will be valuable to those who are looking for schools for their kids.