When Jenny Mazanec reached out to the Santa Barbara Chinese School, she was looking for help with her children’s education. Instead, she was offered the job of principal.
Two years into the role, Mazanec is leading the school as it celebrates its 40th year of teaching reading and writing to Santa Barbara youth and of bringing Chinese traditions to the community.
The school opened in 1985 and celebrated its anniversary in December.
The Santa Barbara Chinese School is open to everyone and offers classes at different levels based on students’ age and fluency. Classes include weekend sessions at UC Santa Barbara and less formal weekday sessions.
The weekday classes are held at local schools, where younger students can practice their language skills through activities, such as reading, calligraphy, learning Chinese lyrics through karaoke, and other group activities.
Mazanec initially reached out to the school shortly after she and her husband returned from a sabbatical in Taiwan.
“My kids at the time started preschool in Taipei, and they finally came back knowing Chinese,” Mazanec said. “And I had a moment of panic like, ‘How am I going to keep this up now?’”
The job offer came after the previous principal looked up Mazanec’s resume and learned she has a master’s degree in applied linguistics. She also spent six years working for Princeton University in Beijing.
Taking over the school came with certain challenges. Mazanec said there were periods when the school was not operating, and the high cost of living in Santa Barbara meant people could not afford to work for free.
The Chinese school also faced the same challenges as other schools – online learning.
During the pandemic, the school moved to online learning and began reintroducing in-person classes near the end of 2023. Mazanec said the school had about 19 students at that time.
After leaving the online learning environment, Mazanec said she wanted to jump-start the school’s in-person classes.
One of the main goals of the in-person clubs and classes was to create an environment where students are interested in history and culture.
Mazanec, who grew up learning Cantonese and Mandarin, said she remembered what it felt like to be forced to learn the language. She would be forced to spend her weekends doing Chinese homework, being quizzed, and reciting poetry.
By making the classes engaging, she hopes students, including her own children, will embrace learning Chinese.
Mazanec said the classes can also help expand students’ horizons.
“It’s so great for their brain development to be introduced to a second language and another culture and know that there’s something bigger beyond what they see here,” Mazanec said.
Professor Bella Chen, who teaches Chinese reading and writing at UC Santa Barbara, was introduced to Wendy Wu, a former principal, in 2005. She was later invited to join the school’s board when Mazanec came on as principal.
Chen said she has offered her services to local communities trying to preserve Chinese culture.
The school initially offered only language instruction but later expanded its programs to include cultural courses such as calligraphy, painting and dance, according to Chen.
The school also developed writing awards and speech contests to help spark student interest.
“The Santa Barbara Chinese School turns 40—like a flower, it spreads its fragrance; like a tree, it branches out and flourishes,” Chen said. “These achievements stem from the dedication of our predecessors. We are deeply honored to have so many of these pioneers.”
The Chinese School has also expanded its presence in the community by celebrating the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year follows the lunar calendar and coincides with the Chinese New Year.
The school held its second annual New Year celebration at the Santa Barbara Public Library on Feb. 22.
The event featured performances by students who sang and danced for the crowd. Other tables featured calligraphy, taught students how to create lanterns, and other arts and crafts.
Children were also invited to dance around the Michael Towbes Library Plaza with a child-sized dragon puppet, carried on multiple sticks.
Mazanec said she hopes to continue the event as long as the library is open to hosting it.
“It’s a great way to just introduce the culture to our larger community, and I’m just glad to be a part of that (and) just see things develop as they go,” Mazanec said.
