November 17, 2025 – Yu Ming hosted celebrations across all four of its campuses on Monday to mark its 2025 National Blue Ribbon award nomination, and selection as a California Blue Ribbon Award recipient for academic excellence. The day-long festivities, highlighted by lion dance performances, brought together students, families, civic leaders, and community partners from across the region.
About 20 local and regional officials joined Yu Ming supporters to recognize Yu Ming’s achievement and affirm its role as a model for high-quality, multilingual public education. Alameda County’s District 3 Director Silin Huang attended on behalf of Supervisor Lena Tam, presenting a county commendation that underscored Yu Ming’s academic impact beyond Oakland and its contribution to educational outcomes across the county. State-level recognition was also represented through Rickiea Lacy, attending on behalf of State Assemblymember Mia Bonta, highlighting Yu Ming’s importance as a public school serving families from 37 cities and 78 ZIP codes.
Oakland civic leadership was present as well, with Councilmember Noel Gallo joining the celebration and recognizing Yu Ming’s contribution to the city’s cultural, linguistic, and educational landscape. Although Councilmember Carroll Fife was unable to attend, she issued a formal proclamation honoring Yu Ming’s two Blue Ribbon recognitions, a rare distinction among Bay Area charter schools, reflecting the pride the school brings to West Oakland and the city at large.
The event was also attended by leaders from Oakland’s Chinatown community. The Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce was represented by Board President Stephanie Tran, Board Vice President Cheryl Ho, and Executive Director Linyi Yu. Their participation, along with that of Tony Trinh, Executive Director of the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, at the Carolyn Campus celebration, underscored the school’s central place within the broader fabric of Oakland’s Asian American communities, and its role in strengthening cross-cultural connections and bilingual education for local families.
A Statewide Recognition with Local Significance
This year’s Blue Ribbon recognition holds particular significance. After the U.S. Department of Education discontinued the National Blue Ribbon Program (NBRS) just weeks before announcing its 2025 honorees, the California Department of Education elected to honor the state’s nominees directly. Yu Ming, previously recognized with the national award in 2019 and nominated again in 2025, is among the only schools to receive a California-issued Blue Ribbon. The California Blue Ribbon School recognition program, established to recognize certified nominees of the cancelled NBRS program, will be awarded for this year only. Other statewide school recognition programs, such as California Distinguished Schools, will continue to recognize exemplary schools across the state.
The recognition reflects Yu Ming’s consistent record of academic excellence across student demographics. Only 20 percent of Yu Ming students enter speaking Mandarin at home, yet 84 percent become fluent English readers by 3rd grade, and 100 percent graduate 8th grade with AP-level Mandarin proficiency. Alumni continue to excel, with 100 percent enrolling in colleges and universities.
Celebrations Across Four Campuses
Monday’s events spanned Yu Ming’s four campuses, where students were greeted with lion dance performances from Cal VSA Lion Dance, the Toishan Benevolent Association, and US Shaolin Kung-Fu, and joined by teachers and families in recognizing the achievement. The performances offered students a powerful connection to cultural traditions that sit at the heart of the school’s immersion model.
At each campus, school leaders shared with students what the Blue Ribbon award means, celebrating their hard work, curiosity, and growth. Principals reminded students that this award recognizes them, their reading gains, their bilingual skills, and the way they support one another every day. School leaders shared memories of how students learned through challenges, helped classmates, and showed persistence in two languages, and they spoke about the teachers who guided them along the way.
As CEO Stacey Wang noted, Yu Ming’s educators “never lost focus on our students, no matter what was happening in the world,” a commitment that carried the school through the COVID pandemic and helped earn Blue Ribbon awards in both 2019 and 2025. The celebrations made clear that this recognition reflects years of learning and growing together as a community, where students’ hard work and teachers’ dedication collectively shape Yu Ming as an exceptional place to learn.
In the News
Yu Ming’s West Oakland celebration was featured across local media outlets, highlighting the significance of the award.
- KPIX CBS – Ch. 5 “Yu Ming Charter School Receives CA’s First Blue Ribbon Award”
- KTSF – Ch. 26 “East Bay Yu Ming Charter School Awarded Blue Ribbon”
- KTVU – FOX 2 “Yu Ming Charter School Awarded first CA Blue Ribbon”