A member school of the American Global Education Alliance, La Salle College Preparatory is a private high school with a long history, founded in 1956. It is located in the city of Pasadena, within the San Gabriel Valley region east of Los Angeles, California. The school is dedicated to providing students with a high-quality learning environment and diverse practical opportunities. It emphasizes not only the development of students' academic abilities but also the enhancement of their global perspectives and cross-cultural communication skills, with a particular focus on foreign language and global leadership education. Situated in a multicultural community, La Salle attracts a large number of local residents, especially Chinese-American families and international students, creating an excellent linguistic environment for Chinese language instruction.
Since 2020, La Salle has officially offered Chinese language and culture courses for its high school students. Although the program is relatively new, it has developed rapidly, with the number of students studying Chinese increasing annually. The school now offers graded Chinese courses for all four high school levels, an AP Chinese Language and Culture course, and an Advanced Chinese Language and Culture course. In 2020, the number of students enrolled in Chinese was 56, accounting for 41% of all students studying a foreign language. By 2025, this number had grown to 98, representing 58% of the school's total language learners. Approximately 33% of the student body is of Asian descent. Furthermore, within a 15-mile radius of the school, there are more than 15 elementary and middle schools with Chinese language courses or immersion programs, providing a strong pipeline of students for La Salle's Chinese program.
In 2024, the school established the "Center for Linguistic Exploration" to promote advanced Chinese language practice projects, create an immersive language learning environment, and foster a deeper understanding of the Chinese language and culture within the local community. Since its inception, the Center has actively organized cultural and linguistic events such as traditional Chinese festival celebrations and the "Chinese Bridge" Competition for students in the Southwestern USA, attracting broad community participation and expanding the social influence of the school's Chinese program.
Under the leadership of Principal Mr. Perry Martin, La Salle College Preparatory continuously advances innovation in Chinese language teaching. Mr. Martin has nearly forty years of experience in K-12 educational administration and previously founded a K-12 Chinese immersion school in Hawaii. Guided by his educational philosophy of "cultivating cross-cultural citizens with a global perspective," he has vigorously supported the development of Chinese language instruction since taking office in 2020, driving the school to become a model for linguistic diversity in education.
Through his efforts, La Salle College Preparatory successfully received approval to become an official HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) Chinese Proficiency Test center in late 2023 and held its first test in March 2024, with 91 registered candidates. As of July 2025, the school has administered three HSK tests with a total of 257 registered participants. The school plans to further collaborate with dual-credit partners like Pasadena City College and surrounding schools with Chinese immersion programs to continuously expand the reach of international Chinese language testing throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
Currently, La Salle College Preparatory has established an educational partnership with Beijing Language and Culture University. The two institutions will deepen their cooperation in areas such as student exchange, teacher training, joint curriculum development, and Chinese language testing to collectively advance the development of international Chinese language education.
