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Yu Ming Charter School

Yu Ming Charter School, nominated by Diverse Charter Schools Coalition and NewSchools Venture Fund, is an elementary/middle school in Oakland, California, that describes itself as a public charter school serving learners from a primarily urban/suburban area.

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Location Oakland, California

Governance Public Charter School

Grades Elementary, Middle

Students 949

Locale Suburban, Urban

Chief Executive Officer Stacey Wang

Demographics

Percentage of students*

19%

English Learners

33%

Free/Reduced Lunch

10%

Students with Disabilities

African American or Black 8%

American Indian/Alaska Native 1%

Asian 54%

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —

Hispanic or Latino 10%

White 5%

2+ Races —

Why Yu Ming Charter School was nominated

Yu Ming is a diverse, joyful and caring community where students are inspired and engaged by learning experiences that are purposeful, rigorous, and personalized. They are a member of the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition and have hosted two fellows through the UnifiED School Launch Program Fellowship., Yu Ming's Mandarin Immersion model consists of 4 pillars; academic excellence, Mandarin Immersion leadership, whole child education, and a diverse, equitable and inclusive community. We aim to make a world class bilingual education accessible to our diverse community., Yu Ming provides full Mandarin immersion for every child. Yu Ming’s approach rests on four pillars: academic excellence, Mandarin immersion, whole-child education, and a deliberately diverse, inclusive community. Yu Ming operates four campuses and consistently ranks among the top 1% of elementary and middle schools in California for Black and Latino students, English learners, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students.

Student experience design

Our dual language immersion model reimagines the student experience and fosters success in a rapidly changing world by empowering students to drive their own learning. The Yu Ming Mandarin immersion model integrates innovative practices such as personalized learning, inquiry-based learning, technology, specialized language acquisition, and project-based learning. We balance rigorous academics with social-emotional learning through our Compass framework, which fosters relationship-based practices, self-knowledge, belonging, and deep community connections. We cultivate a learning environment representing almost 30 home languages, 35 cities and 75 zip codes in a school of less than 1000 students. With a population of 90% students of color, our scholars are immersed in a global context every day, gaining deeper cultural intelligence by navigating —and celebrating — differences with their peers.

Core Practices

Core Practices Length of Use

Dual Language Programming
5+ years

Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics
5+ years

Reallocation Of Resources For Students Most In Need
5+ years

SEL Curriculum
5+ years

Student-led Goal Setting
5+ years

All Practices

Adaptive Learning Software

Student Advisories

AI For Teacher Productivity

Anti-racist Practices

Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Assessments For Social-emotional Skills

Blended Learning

Co-leadership

Competency/mastery-based Education

Culturally Responsive Practices

Disaggregated Data On Student Participation

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Interoperable Data From Multiple Technologies

Individual Learning Paths

Mental Health Services

No Tracked Classes

Project-based Learning

Peer To Peer Support

Performance Based Assessment

High Quality Instructional Materials

Restorative Practices

SEL Integration School-wide

Student-led Conferences

Students Access Their Own Data

Tutoring

Universal Design For Learning

key reasons for innovating

Address systemic inequities

Demonstrate what’s possible for other schools

Improve academic achievement

Date Updated: 4/1/2025

*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.