The San Jose after-school counseling center “Jumping Up Learning Circles,” with a history of over 20 years, upholds the concept of “Excellence in Everything” and adopts small class teaching. Students have shown outstanding performance and gained trust from parents, with 99% of students choosing to continue their education. In addition, the center offers adult Mandarin classes and provides financial assistance to low-income families.
Current principal of “Jumping Up Learning Circles,” Ms. Li Hanwen, has been serving as the principal since 2015. She mentioned that the center encourages students from a young age to view failure as a stepping stone to success and to not be discouraged by setbacks, but to turn each setback into motivation and a milestone towards success.
Ms. Li emphasized that failure brings valuable experience and learning opportunities, helping us grasp important lessons in academics and life. Therefore, the teaching goal of the center aligns with the students’ learning goal, which is “Excellence in Everything.”
The teaching staff at “Jumping Up Learning Circles” consists of licensed professional teachers, with the majority having over 20 years of teaching experience. Newly recruited young teachers undergo training before officially teaching. In contrast to public schools’ large class sizes, the center adopts small class sizes, typically with three to four students per class, and provides personalized one-on-one tutoring to ensure each student receives individualized guidance and attention.
Ms. Li stressed that the center focuses on providing individualized teaching and high-quality professional courses from Monday to Thursday to offer deeper guidance to students. Students who graduate from the center in English typically achieve straight A’s in public school English writing performance, leading many parents to commend and thank the center for its dedicated teaching.
The center incorporates Singapore Math as advanced material, combining it with foundational math to cultivate many math talented students. By fifth grade, students from “Jumping Up Learning Circles” pass the middle school math gifted class test. Upon entering sixth grade in public school, they can join the middle school math gifted class.
The center’s admissions range from kindergarten to sixth grade, with classes divided into kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school. Kindergarten classes cater to children aged four and a half to five years old, primary school enrolls first to fifth graders, and junior high school restricts admissions to sixth graders. Additionally, the center offers adult Mandarin classes with one-on-one, online courses, and small class teachings.
Subjects offered include Chinese, Mathematics, and English courses. The Chinese classes employ immersive language teaching methods emphasizing listening, speaking, reading, and writing entirely in Chinese to cultivate practical language skills. Ms. Li mentioned that Chinese classes run from Monday to Thursday for one hour each day, totaling four hours per week, doubling the learning time compared to weekend Chinese schools. Additionally, the center offers Japanese and Spanish courses.
The Mathematics courses cater to preschool and primary school students, utilizing cognitive indicators of “numbers, quantity, shape, space” and teaching techniques where students actively engage with teaching aids to transform abstract mathematical concepts into concrete thinking. At the same time, Singapore Math is adopted as advanced teaching material.
The English courses cover listening, speaking, reading, and writing aspects comprehensively. Regardless of English or foreign language learning, the curriculum starts from listening and speaking, gradually extending to reading and writing to enhance students’ language abilities. Ms. Li mentioned that in English writing, topics cover vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and writing skills. Choosing to study English at “Jumping Up Learning Circles” not only enhances writing abilities but also strengthens grammar, vocabulary, and spelling skills simultaneously, providing multiple benefits from a single learning experience.
In addition to the main courses, the center offers cultural classes on Fridays, teaching activities such as origami, paper-cutting, bracelet weaving, and practicing brush calligraphy to help students learn Chinese culture through hands-on activities like writing couplets, learning the origins of Lantern Festival, traditional festival songs, and also covers Western cultures such as Thanksgiving and Christmas backgrounds and activities.
Ms. Li emphasized the center’s focus on balanced education between Chinese and Western cultures to help students deepen their understanding of both cultures while enhancing their confidence and resilience through solid language and math training.
Concerning extracurricular activities, on Fridays with good weather, teachers take the students to nearby parks for outdoor activities like playing on slides, swings, or ball games. This not only improves their physical fitness but also aids in relaxation.
Every summer, the center holds a summer camp from mid-June to early August, operating from 8 am to 6 pm daily. In a relaxed atmosphere, children learn maths, English, and Chinese for the upcoming semester in advance and cultivate public speaking and debate skills, along with life skills.
Ms. Li stated that public speaking classes start from third grade to develop oral expression and storytelling through drawings. In fourth and fifth grade, students further study public speaking and debate guided by professional English teachers. The center also offers computer programming courses, teaching children to create cartoon animations, as well as Chinese chess and chess lessons by Chinese teachers. Additionally, life skill training such as cooking is provided, teaching children to make pizza, noodles, etc., letting children enjoy fun through hands-on activities and enhancing their skills and interests comprehensively.
Furthermore, outdoor activities are arranged on Fridays for students to participate in off-campus trips to places like parks, historical museums, science museums, exploratoriums, Emma farm (observing small animals), zoos, and art exhibitions in San Francisco (such as the De Young Museum). Additionally, visits to the NASA Space Center, Intel Museum, National Library, Japanese Gardens, and others with professional guides are organized to broaden students’ horizons.
Lastly, Ms. Li emphasized that children’s growth requires continuous effort from both parents and children over the long term. She mentioned that students need systematic training over an extended period to truly master skills. Discontinuing learning after just one or two semesters can hinder achieving the desired learning outcomes, especially for courses like public speaking training and English writing, which require cumulative practice to show significant results.
She also highlighted that many students who previously studied at the center have completed university studies and successfully found employment. They often return to visit teachers and Ms. Li, expressing gratitude for the careful cultivation they received. These reunions allow the school to witness the students’ growth and achievements, bringing Ms. Li immense satisfaction.
The “Jumping Up Learning Circles” After-School Counseling Center has commenced enrollment for the 2025 spring season. The early bird discount deadline is December 20, 2024, and new families can enjoy a 10% discount. Full-day services are available during holidays.
For more information, please contact:
Phone: (C) 408-442-2259, (O) 408-323-8388
Manager’s Email: eastgateschool@aol.com
Website: https://gojumpingup.com or https://jumpinguplearning.ntddigital.com
Address: 5671 Santa Teresa Blvd., #220, San Jose, CA 95123 ◇