I looked EVERYWHERE to find a good bilingual Korean-American preschool for my child. So few places offer it for kids as young as three, and the few others I found were more like daycare. Karis is a wonderful find! The teachers here are amazing. We love Ms. Susie Kim. She not only has credentials, but she really is passionate about teaching and so carefully thinks through each lesson plan and how kids this age learn best. My shy child loves her so much and has become so brave practicing the language. We drive one hour to take our child to Karis for Ms. Kim. We cannot thank her enough!!! read more

I couldn't be happier with Karis Academy! I have 2 daughters and we used to attend a different Chinese school and my girls have made so much more progress since switching to Karis! My girls have attended Kinder Chinese as well as private tutoring and summer camp (Karis also offers ESL, Korean, Coding, Piano and many other enrichment classes) and we have been elated with all of them! As a non-Chinese speaker, a high quality Mandarin education is even more important to me since I can't really help my kids much (although I am having a lot of fun learning some Mandarin too practicing with my daughters!). The teachers are always so nice and translate everything into English & Pinyin for me so I can more easily have my daughters practice at home. Karis has phenomenal, experienced, native speaking, & caring teachers who are really invested in helping children learn languages and having fun doing it! I know both of my girls' teachers truly care about the girls - like an Aunt would - and they always go above and beyond coming up with creative ways to engage my girls and help them really retain the language. Another thing I love is how both of my girls' teachers also teach them about Chinese Culture such as Chinese Poetry, trying Chinese foods, learning about the Chinese holidays, etc. Karis uses the highest quality curriculum complete with a multitude of different books, CDs, DVDs, worksheets and some of the materials they even create themselves! My girls are continuously doing creative craft & art projects and games related to learning Mandarin which is helpful to keep them engaged and looking forward to attending Mandarin classes every week! Another thing I like about Karis Academy is that it is very organized and has a great administrative staff which is helpful for scheduling classes, makeups and also for using Charter School funds (which they accept!). Karis is located on the entire second level of a building conveniently located right off the 5 freeway & Jeffrey (we drive from Newport Beach to get there) and it is a very safe location with plenty of parking. Karis Academy is the perfect school for my daughters and I only wish something like this existed when I was a kid because Karis is so amazing I wish I could attend too! read more

I am so thankful for Karis! My daughter has been to their camp as well as take Chinese classes from Pan LaoShi. Each time, my daughter learned effectively and retained what she learned. Personally, I researched many places and found that Karis was the perfect one for our family. Karis is the only one that I found that truly helped and cared about my daughter's needs. Let me say that I am a teacher and have been in education for 15 years. Therefore, I am extremely picky when choosing for my own kids. Wendy is a credentialed teacher who hires and trains all the teachers. This means everything! Many academies are run by business people and NOT educators! I have been disappointed time and again when I ask different educational institutions about their curriculum, how they teach, and what the goals are. They always present well on the website or flier but when asked specifically about teaching method or curriculum, they either give me a flimsy answer or make it up. Packetized learning and having an untrained college kid facilitate the class is NOT how you teach! Choose Karis.. you're child will properly learn a language and have a good time doing it. read more

I live about 2 hours away. I called in advance to schedule a tour of the school. I called 2 weeks In advance and was told can come in anytime that week. I dnt not need appointment. I was looking for a summer camp for my 4 yr old daughter. I arrived at the school and they were CLOSED!!! I wish they would inform me they are closed this week. read more

I love Karis Academy! Friendly staff with excellent programming. Also such a great sense of community among the teachers and kids!

This has been a fantastic after school program for my kindergarten son. He loves learning Chinese and within few months have been able to write numbers and short vocabulary in Chinese. There are also other variety of options besides enrichment class such as dance, piano, coding,yoga, and art which my child can explore around. My son especially enjoy his classes with Ms. Chi, Ms.Chihero, and Ms. Ding. The teachers are genuinely caring and helpful. read more

Good language program for the summer camp. They let the kids study in the morning, do arts and crafts in the afternoon, and field trip on every other Friday. We will come back this year for their summer camp. read more

I recently enrolled my daughter. We definitely had the "three bears" experience of looking for a Chinese school. Some were too far away, some stopped offering Mandarin, one lost my husband when he was a child so he didn't trust them to keep his daughter safe, another school had a slick set-up but during the tour I saw them leave an injured young child outside the classroom, close the door and went back to teaching. I was so happy when I found karis academy! My 4 year old is really enjoying her class. She doesn't feel out of place at all. I asked her after her trial class if she'd like to enroll and it was a solid yes. I pack her a lunch and for $8, it extends her class for an additional hour with lunch and playtime downstairs at playland cafe. I know the school opened just this year and I am definitely rooting for their success. read more

Let me say that I do not write reviews on yelp unless I believe the place deserves 5 stars. I believe that Karis deserves all five. Last fall, my wife and I moved our son from a Mandarin Immersion school to the public school when he reached Kindergarten. However, we noticed that his Mandarin language skills were deteriorating rapidly (my wife speaks it but I do not). Feeling very concerned about this trend and also that he was not learning much after his 200 minutes of schooling was over, we started to look around for a new after school program. A friend referred us to Karis, and we have been very happy with it. He is not only being immersed in Mandarin but also learning a variety of different subjects each day - e.g., mathematics and even coding (once a week). Many times I go to pick up my son, and he does not want to leave because he loves what he is doing and learning. His Mandarin quickly recovered and his writing and math skills have been improving at a quick pace. The staff are all very friendly and helpful. Our son has had his share of improper behavior, but the staff have been very patient and understanding. It is a big decision as to where a child spends half of his waking day during the week. We are very glad he is at Karis. read more

This is a terrific school, in particular the Mandarin Chinese program for preschoolers. Our daughter's teacher "Gao Lao Shi" is patient, engaging and keeps the children interested in learning (and this is extremely difficult in particular at the preschool level). This is a brand new school that was recommended to us by one of our friends, and we are so glad that we heard about it and gave it a try. Also, Wendy, the director, is caring and experienced. read more

Just finished 7 months of mommy and me Mandarin class with my daughter today. The instructor was wonderful and I feel like my child has learned so much. She can now count to 20 in Mandarin and knows her colors in both Mandarin and English. It's amazing to see her growth. read more

I would give this school 10 stars if it were possible! My children have been going to Karis Academy for 6 months now. They attend two days a week of Mandarin classes. We do not speak Chinese at home so we are all learning together. Within two months of attending, they started incorporating Chinese words to everyday conversation. Please, thank you, etc. They are always asking me how to say a word/phrase in Chinese so I am brushing up on my Chinese too. They are also more interested in learning different cultures and trying different foods. They are picky eaters and would not eat anything unfamiliar before but now they say Asian food is great and want to eat everything with chopsticks. :) Karis is fantastic because the teachers have extensive experience teaching and the class sizes are small. My children's teacher has a doctorate in Education with extensive years of teaching but she is very humble. She obviously enjoys teaching young children and is quite good at it. When I say the class size is small, I mean it is a class size of 5 kids. We have gone to other Chinese schools before where the ratio was 12 to 1 and that was just too much to teach a foreign language to young kids. The Directress at Karis has extensive experience in education as well (Irvine Unified School District) and you can see it in how she patiently deals with the students and how she runs her school. I also love the fact that it is a 'one stop shop'. They offer enrichment classes in English, Arts, etc. Because I am there twice a week, I have plenty of time to observe the other classes and talk to other parents. I can tell they do a great job with their enrichment classes too. The kids are proud and excited as well as the parents too! As an added bonus they are also in the same building as Playland Café so your kids have access to a real fun playground when they need to just burn some energy. I definitely recommend Karis Academy. I trust my children's education to the very qualified hands of their staff! read more

So far, I've found the teachers to be phenomenal and the owner is super nice and flexible. My son attends the mandarin classes at Karis and he enjoys the class times too. He looks forward to the classes and I like that the teachers focus on learning Chinese characters. read more

This is an excellent language school. My son enjoys the classes so much. He even asked me to extend his Summer program. He has attended 2 other Chinese schools before for 2 years. He learned more Chinese in this 5 weeks Summer program than the past 2 years. The teachers are so kind and patient. They know how to makes the program live and fun! Highly recommend Karis Chinese program. read more

Looking for daycare options for our boys for this past summer. We gave Karis another chance and was able to successfully enroll them in their summer camp. Despite having reservations. It turned out to be a very positive and good experience. So much so that we are continuing to use them for their After School Enrichment. Both boys loved it. They came back blurting out Chinese every so often. And when asked if they want to go to Karis they enthusiastically said yes. That says a lot. At this age 6 and 9. That's all we really wanted. A happy place that can help watch our kids while the parents work. Somewhere they are having fun and learning something. Based on this I'd rate them 5 stars. But I just had to deduct a star for their administration. Which can be better. Even days before registration for the after school enrichment. They still didn't have their schedules out. But I still prefer Karis for having their actual operations running well. Than going to a place with good admin, but bad care and instruction. read more

My 4 year old son takes Chinese class at Karis, and he loves it. The other day someone asked him "Do you go to school?" and he replied, "I LOVE Chinese School!" At home he'll take out his Chinese books for fun, and ask "Who wants to learn Chinese?" Then my husband or I will raise our hands, and then he'll pick a page and start singing one of his Chinese songs to us. It's a very warm and friendly environment. I'm so impressed with the teachers and the school. read more

My son has learned so much from Miss. Park in the Korean language class. She is such an enthusiastic and warm caring teacher. Initially my son was a lilttle behind the class so she offered to see him extra time till he was caught up. His progress has been amazing compared to previous schools he has attended. Very small class size is great for my son since he tends to get distracted. In addition to language he learns about Korean etiquette and showing respect. It's great! read more

Best Chinese School in Irvine! My 8 years old daughter loves her Chinese level 1 class there. She is currently taking summer class, and she will be back in the fall to take Chinese level 2. She learns Chinese reading, writing, conversation, Chinese culture and Chinese art. I love this school has small size of the class! read more

My daughters, ages 5 and 9, attended Karis Academy's Mandarin summer camp. Both LOVED it. The teachers were caring and fun. My oldest was nervous at first because she wasn't a native speaker and felt awkward speaking a foreign language. I told the director my concerns, and she made sure my daughter received some one on one time to practice speaking Mandarin. read more

Mrs.Parks is amazing! She is so attentive and goes above and beyond that is expected. Makes it so much fun for my daughter to learn korean. She is so great in giving parents pointers on how to encourage language learning even at home. So the parents learn with the students. My daughter always looks forward to going to Korean school and that means a lot to me. read more

I had called over a dozen academic programs around my area and I HAVE to give a 5-star review to Karis Academy and the receptionist, Sammy, who took my call. I have a child with Down syndrome. After having received several rejections from other academies just from hearing his diagnosis and repeatedly being told he was not "average intelligence", I held my breath when I inquired about his inclusion into this program. Sammy was professional, courteous, and quick to respond and ensure that she would answer my questions and concerns correctly. I appreciated her honesty in sharing that the staff did not have the special training that require special accommodations. It was the best, honest response and I truly respect this academy for its modern approach and kind message they left me. I would recommend their services to others. A special shout out to Sammy whom I hope gets kudos for her response. read more