About The China Challenge
“Too often, too little is expected of DC students from underserved communities. HSCDC believes that investing in young people is as essential to community development as bricks and mortar.”
—William J. Barrow, III, HSCDC Executive Director
H Sreet CDC has evolved since its founding in 1984 from focusing on the revitalization of the H Street NE corridor to becoming a strategic community development partner for the entire city. It has expanded affordable housing, nurtured small business enterprises, developed commercial centers, trained residents to become homeowners, and improved neighborhood/merchant relations.
HSCDC started The China Challenge program in 2006. The classroom is the whole city--from ordering food in Chinatown, learning taichi at the Chinatown Cultural Community Center to viewing Chinese art at the Smithsonian Freer/Sackler Galleries. A native Chinese certified Chinese language teacher and a D.C. teacher link language instruction with discussions of China's impact on the U.S. and the world. Vocabulary words and Chinese characters come alive when paired with concrete examples of globalization and the personal significance to the student. Quizzes, papers, newsletters and group discussions measure the progress of the students.
Through The China Challenge, HSCDC provides a unique opportunity to primarily minority students for college advancement but also plants seeds of limitless and lucrative global employment opportunities for their future.