SUMMARY Founded in 1981 as the first Mandarin immersion school in the United States, the Chinese American International School (CAIS) educates 571 students age two through 8th grade. Over the last four decades, CAIS has been recognized globally as a leader in bilingual education and an innovator for its commitment to immersive, cultural education through the study of language. CAIS is “a safe place to tinker and try,” with deep support for educators who lead with curiosity and vision and a culture that values creativity, risk-taking, and collaboration.  Within the middle school, students in grades 6–8 study an intellectually challenging, competency-based curriculum that includes math, science, design technology, English language arts, social studies, Chinese lang