CASL: Chinese American Service League

Program Overview

CASL's Adult Education program helps community members build the skills they need to succeed at work, in school, and in daily life. Whether you are improving your English, preparing for the U.S. citizenship test, or learning new skills for your career, our experienced instructors are here to support you. Improve your reading, writing, and speaking skills through classes at the absolute beginner, beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Our 10-week English courses are designed to help you communicate confidently in everyday life, at work, and in the community.

CASL's after-school program fosters growth, safety, enrichment, and success. Regular attendance in an after school program helps children develop study skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, enrichment, and social-emotional skills, setting them up for future success. Our elementary after-school program provides enrichment, homework help, and bus transportation from select schools. We also accept childcare assistance
programs to help with costs. The middle school program offers academic support, leadership activities, and a safe space for middle school students to build confidence and friendships. The high school program provides college prep, life skills training, and mentoring to help high school students grow, succeed, and plan for the future.

Here's what's included:

• Creative enrichment like cooking, arts & crafts, and music
• One-on-one mentorship through Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Summer camp and school break programming
• Nutritious meals and snacks every day

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Our client who is a wife, a mother, and most of all, a hard-working student. “Cherry" is not only a dedicated mother of a few young children, but she is also a student that consistently demonstrated commitment to learning both English and the Citizenship class content. She enrolled in two classes for two quarters straight. Cherry always brought a positive attitude to class, which inevitably helped the overall atmosphere of the class to be uplifting and progressive. Cherry would also be seen helping other classmates with their studies, and never backed down from a question or problem that could have felt too difficult for her. Cherry recently was able to pass her naturalization interview, being the first in her immediate family to achieve the next step in their lives as immigrants to the United States. She serves as a role model to Adult Education students, immigrant women in the U.S., and to her own husband and children. They plan to follow suit with their naturalization, starting with her husband and her oldest son, who was not born in the United States.

I think of the phrase 'It takes a village.' In education, a child doesn't just learn from their teacher. They learn from their environment and the adults in their lives. Whether it's a sibling or a cousin, it really takes a village. And CASL is already such a big village that's here to support. I remember it being a warehouse and it was always really loud. The space was an open warehouse with multiple programs running. There weren't real walls—just shelves acting as dividers. You could hear the culinary program chopping away, cooking their stuff, and then the seniors singing. It was very community-like. My mom knew everybody, and they all knew me. Even the front desk person knew everyone. The programs were sectioned off, but you could still see what they were doing because there weren't real walls. It felt very inviting.

I've always wanted to help people. That's just in my nature. So I decided to get my master's in early childhood education. While I was planning that, my mom bumped into the former manager of the child development center. They got to talking, and she told her about my plans. The manager said, 'I'm hiring.' That's how we got connected. There were so many kids going through this program, and yet she remembered me. I wasn't particularly smart or a bad kid—nothing that would make someone remember me for so long. But the fact that she did made me think, maybe I was a special kid. When I help enroll a new family, I see my mom or dad in them—the nervousness, not knowing the language, wondering if this is a good school for their child. There are so many schools around here, so what makes us special? That's a moment I relive often.