Bertrand D Hsu
American & Chinese
Bicultural Academy
徐大宏美中双文化学校
Academics Overview
We take academics seriously, and it shows. Our top priorities are English, Math, and Chinese—taught with a mix of hands-on learning, personalized support, and joyful challenge.
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English: In addition to regular English class, every student participates in a daily school-wide reading class grouped by proficiency. They read books at their level with guidance from teachers and support from peers. Younger students build phonics skills; older students dive into comprehension and discussion.
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Math: We use an AI-enabled platform that lets students move at their own pace—with support from teachers to catch up or surge ahead. Middle and upper grade students also meet weekly for project-based and concept review math classes.
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Chinese: Students study Mandarin with simplified characters and Pinyin every day—at their own level. Whether they’re beginners or native speakers, we meet them where they are and help them grow.
We organize students into Lower (K–2), Middle (3–5), and Upper (6–8) cohorts, each with age-appropriate academic expectations. Younger kids learn through structured teacher-led lessons. Older students gradually build independence and learn how to learn—skills that will serve them for life.
We also mix in a little old-school charm: sentence diagramming, cursive handwriting, and yes, even the occasional encyclopedia. Cell phone use is prohibited from arrival at school to departure at the end of the day. Laptops are permitted only during class time.
Academic Year 2024-2025
Elementary School student progress
Elementary / Primary Grade students (grades 1st - 5th)
Each line represents a student's progress in math this academic year. The top line represents a 5th grade student who began the year doing 5th grade work and is finishing the year doing 7th grade work!
We support every student to catch-up and encourage every student to accelerate ahead!
Middle School student progress
Middle Grade / Secondary School students (grades 6th - 7th)
Each line represents a student's progress in math this academic year. The top line represents a 6th grade student who began the year doing 8th grade work and is finishing the year doing 10th grade work!
We support every student to catch-up and encourage every student to accelerate ahead!
Our individualized education approach lets each student progress in math and English Language Arts at their own pace under the guidance and support of teachers.
Each time a student finishes a grade worth of work, everyone celebrates with the banging of the gong!
Academics by Subject
English Language Arts
We believe students should not only learn and master the mechanics of the English language, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, they should also be able to think critically about what they have heard and read, research and verify what they have learned, work well in teams, and express clearly their own thoughts through speaking and writing. In order to do all of the latter, they need to accumulate a core base of knowledge in literature, history, geography, science, current events and through first-hand life experiences.
We at Bert Hsu Academy follow the curriculum outlined by the Core Knowledge Foundation which includes a large vocabulary and a broad substantive set of general knowledge that is delivered coherently and systematically. We complement that with first-hand life experiences gained outside of the classroom, through daily play and gardening and weekly field trips to parks, museums and places where people work, so that students become well rounded independent thinkers who can manage their own lives and contribute to society.
We also have adopted Afficient, an AI-based technology platform, to reinforce skills such as vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension to grade level proficiency while the teacher focuses on teaching writing and leading students in discussing what they've learned.
Math & Technology
While we follow the Core Knowledge curriculum for English, History, Geography and Science, we depart from it for Math. In the K-2 grades, we teach Math the Chinese way, encouraging mastery of the fundamental skills of arithmetic through practice and memorization. We also connect mathematical concepts to real life such as shapes, measurement, time and money.
Starting in the 3rd grade, we use Afficient, an AI-based technology platform, to enable our students to learn more abstract concepts at their own pace with 1-on-1 teacher guidance. Afficient assesses students' levels and pinpoints their proficiencies so they may review and master previous concepts before adding on new ones. For students who adhere to weekly assignments, a grade level worth of Math can be learned in 18-20 weeks. We allow and encourage students to learn beyond their grade level as far and as quickly as they can.
To complement the individualized learning, we have weekly collaborative math projects that bring math concepts to the real world (building things at scale, collecting data, representing data with visuals, unit conversions with manipulatives, etc.).
With technology permeating our daily lives, we introduce the concepts of technology literacy, programming and robotics to students as young as kindergarten so that they can become savvy consumers of technology as well as creators if they so choose in the future. We have a no cell phone policy and laptops are permitted only during academic class time.
Chinese Language & Culture
As a bilingual and bicultural school, we not only teach students the Chinese language but also teach them Chinese history and culture in English.
In contrast to immersion Chinese schools where students must start learning the language in preschool, kindergarten or at the latest first grade, we believe it's never too late to learn Chinese. In our daily Chinese classes, we meet students where they are in terms of Chinese language proficiency and teach them to:
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Understand and speak Mandarin
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Read and write simplified Chinese characters with the assistance of Pinyin
In parallel with teaching the Chinese language, we teach Chinese cultural, in English. Some ways we do this include:
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Celebrate traditional Chinese holidays with accompanying ceremonies and foods
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Learn Chinese history of 5,000 years and the three major philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism
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Read Chinese classical books (Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, etc.)
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Practice Chinese calligraphy and ink paintings
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Compare and contrast Chinese & American traditional and contemporary cultures
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Study Chinese & Asian American history
Read more about BHA's Bicultural Education here
Science & Enrichment
In addition to core subjects, our students explore science, arts, physical education, and life skills that support whole-child development. Science is hands-on and real-world—covering life, earth, and physical sciences through experiments, field trips, and outdoor learning, including biweekly visits to Florence Fang Community Farm.
Students engage in visual arts, music (including piano, singing, percussion, and Chinese instruments), and PE units ranging from team sports to martial arts. Gardening and cooking classes teach collaboration, care, and responsibility. And every child learns practical skills—like cleaning, dishwashing, and serving food—that foster independence and respect for community.
See how our weekly field trips contribute to learning and view a gallery of field trip photos.
After School & Weekend Programs
As a good neighbor, we bring our academic and cultural program elements to the Potrero Hill and surrounding neighborhoods via our After School program open to non-BHA students.
We also offer a Saturday Program that serves students from across San Francisco and beyond.
In the future, we intend to bring together various service providers scattered throughout the City to our school to provide after school and weekend, on-site and fee-based enrichment programs.
Please see our website's After School and Saturday Program pages for more details.