焦點人物: Terry Lee 陳淑妍

(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021.)

Irvine is a city known for its public schools. Aside from the founding of UC Irvine (UCI) in 1965, the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) K-12, was ranked among the tops in the State of California as well as in the nation. This fact has attracted many families who value education to move to Irvine.

In 1978, Tom and Terry Lee chose to settle in Irvine for the same reason. The population in Irvine at the time was less than 60,000. The Irvine Chinese School (ICS) had been in existence for only two years, holding classes in the rented Rancho San Joaquin Middle School. Its every move depended on the enthusiasm of parents.

Before the school year 1980 ended, someone suggested a year-end picnic. There was a need for someone to make Jell-O for about 100 people. Known for her culinary skills, Terry felt duty-bound to take it on. Making Jell-O should not be too hard, she thought. Once she got started, she discovered that space was limited in her refrigerator. She had to beg her friends for help. The problem was solved only when the refrigerators in several homes came to the rescue. The specially made Jell-O was served, and Terry was made PTA president for the following school year.

In 1982, Terry became the Principal of ICS. She sought the help of good friends, I-tuan Wang, Linda Wei, Charles Yeh, and Jane Chang, to improve operations. Terry says, “That year, I-tuan’s living room became our office. I-tuan hand-wrote all Chinese documents and texts.” (PCs and software to generate Chinese language texts had yet to come on the market).

“I remember when students were to give a dance performance, their costumes and headdress were wholly the work of parents, from design, to pattern making, cutting and sewing.”

That same year, ICS started to hold classes at University High. Because she lived nearby, Terry cleaned out a space in her garage to serve as an ICS library. Not only did it house library books and student records, it accommodated a copying machine donated by the parents. Before class on Sunday morning, Tom would go to the classrooms to collect lesson plans and homework assignments, rush home to photocopy them, then hurry back to the classrooms, so the teachers would have the material to hand out.

A fastidious person, Terry Lee has kept those lesson plans, report cards, correspondence, records, annual publication, etc. She remembers one piece of material that she found which she recommended as supplementary teaching material. It was an article compiled by the Asian American Bilingual Center on the contributions of early Chinese immigrants toward the development of this country. She hoped it would help students understand the historical status of Chinese Americans in the United States.

Bill Shen, a former student says, “It has been more than three decades since I was a student at Irvine Chinese School.... What I remember most fondly about ICS was the sense of community. Arriving on campus, there were hundreds of children and families that looked just like me! Our language was not strange. The food was not weird. Our culture was taught and celebrated. Indeed, we could be ourselves. I really appreciated then, and now, having a safe place to learn and play with other kids like me.”

Irvine Chinese School had been in existence for only six years then. There were 261 students, 17 teachers, and 15 classes. It was already the largest overseas Chinese school in Orange County. Following her innovative spirit, Terry asked Steve Wang to help design a school logo, gratis, promulgated school regulations, compiled an annual publication, looked for all ways to encourage students to participate in intra- and extramural competitions, to enhance their zeal in learning Chinese. Lunar New Year’s Eve celebrations became the setting for showing off student learning. Youngsters took turns being emcees. Many of the tasks on-and-off stage were assigned to students.

Having rented the University High classrooms and gymnasium to hold classes, ICS facilitated University High’s application to the Eleanor Dodge Foundation for a grant to establish IUSD’s first high school Chinese class, giving students in the district Chinese as an additional option for their foreign language electives.

In 1996, the Irvine Public School Foundation (IPSF) was established to coordinate the forces of business, community and the school district in supporting the new IUSD initiatives. Terry Lee became the first Chinese American Board member of IPSF, and helped in a number of its fundraising efforts. She was awarded the 1998-99 Celebration of Excellence for Outstanding Service to Public Education in Irvine. Other recipients of the award that year were the Irvine Company and the Allergan Foundation.

Besides her service to IPSF, Terry Lee was instrumental in promoting cooperation between UCI and the Chinese American community. She played an active part in encouraging the Palace Museum in Taipei to donate a 500-volume (photocopy edition) of the Siku Quanshu Collection (Imperial Collection of the Complete Library in Four Sections – compiled by Ji Yun during the reign of Qian Long, Qing Dynasty) to the East Asian library at UCI.

In 1991 Terry Lee became chair of the fundraising committee, South Coast Chinese Cultural Association (SCCCA) and took part in its fundraising activities, in supporting the Barclay Theatre at UCI. In these endeavors she promoted the story of Arlene and George Cheng and why the Cheng Hall was named after them. To further support the newly completed Barclay Theatre, Terry and a group of good friends organized Bravi 9, Inc., a group dedicated to bringing on stage , music, plays, dance, performing arts to elevate the cultural and arts offerings in Cheng Hall.

In her modesty, Terry Lee says, “Education is longterm planning. Educational and cultural enterprises require the participation and support of the community.” In her volunteer roles in Irvine, she has made many friends with whom she shares mutual interests. “It is only through the kindness and help of friends that I have been able to achieve any sustained success in paying back to the community.” (English translation by Sally Feng)

(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書)

爾灣是個以公立學校聞名的城市，除了 1965 年創校的爾灣加大之外，爾灣學區從小學到高中， 水準均在加州及全美名列前茅，吸引許多重視教育的家庭遷入。

1978 年李龍富及陳淑妍夫婦選擇安家於此，當時爾灣市居民不到六萬人，爾灣中文學校成立才兩年， 租用爾灣學區的 Rancho San Joaquin 初中上課，大小事都靠熱心家長推動。

在 1980 年度學期快結束前，有人提議辦個野餐活動，需要準備百餘人份量的果凍，擅長烹飪的陳淑妍，義不容辭的接下這份工作，她心想做果凍不難， 但是動手之後才發現家裡的冰箱空間有限，沒法放下百餘人份量的果凍，所以臨時向朋友求助，借用了好幾家人的冰箱才解決難題，及時供應特製果凍，也因而被推舉為下學年的家長會長。

1982 年度陳淑妍出任爾灣中文學校校長，找來好友趙儀端、韋鄭惠瑾、葉正平、歐陽珍幫忙，推動中文學校校務更上一層樓。陳淑妍說：「那一年趙儀端家的客廳就是我們的辦公室，編輯學生手冊之類的文書工作，全靠她手寫完成。我還記得當時學生舞蹈表演的服裝和頭飾，從設計、選材到剪裁、縫製，全由熱心家長一手包辦。」

那一年，爾灣中文學校開始借用大學高中上課， 陳淑妍因住得近，就空出車庫當中文學校的圖書館， 除了存放圖書及學生資料外，還有一部家長捐贈的影印機，每週日上課前，由李龍富到校收取各班講義及作業，快速返家影印，再趕回教室，讓老師們發給學生。

做事認真的陳淑妍，至今仍保留當年的講義、成績簿、年刊、信件等紀錄，其中還包括她在開學前， 特別找來的補充教材──由亞美雙語中心編印的華僑先民開發貢獻史，希望讓學生更了解身為美國華裔的歷史地位。

當年的學生申克凡說:「我從爾灣中文學校畢業已超過 30 年，印象最深刻的，就是中文學校給我和家人帶來的歸屬感。每逢周末上課，跟家庭背景相似的同學們，很自然的玩在一起，我們熟悉的食物、語言、 文化在那裡得到應有的重視，現在回想起來，真感謝爾灣中文學校給我提供一個安全而自在的成長環境。」

那時爾灣中文學校成立才六年，有 261 名學生、 17 位老師，分成 15 班上課，已是橙縣規模最大的僑校。陳淑妍更發揮創新精神，請王友遂義務幫忙設計校徽、制定校規、出版年刊，想盡辦法鼓勵學生參加校內、校外比賽，以啟發他們學習中文的熱忱。慶祝農曆年的新年晚會，也成為展現學習成果的舞台，除 了訓練小司儀輪流主持之外，台上台下許多工作都分派學生幫忙。

由於租用大學高中教室及體育館上課的緣故，爾灣中文學校還促成大學高中申請道奇基金會補助，創立爾灣學區第一個高中中文班，使學區裡的高中生在學習外語時，多了中文的選項。

爾灣學區為了多方爭取經費來源，於 1996 年成立爾灣公立學校基金會（Irvine Public School Foundation， 簡稱 IPSF），結合企業、社區及學區三方力量，支援學區內的各項新計畫。陳淑妍是首位出任基金會理事的華裔，曾多次為 IPSF 籌款，並獲頒 1998-1999 年度的傑出教育貢獻 獎（Celebration of Excellence，For Outstanding Service to Public Education in Irvine），當年 同時受到表揚的還包括爾灣公司及 Allergan 基金會。

除了爾灣公立學校基金會之外，陳淑妍也致力於推動爾灣加大與華裔的合作。在她積極促成下，台北故宮博物院於 1991 年捐贈館藏的《欽定四庫全書薈要》五百冊影本給爾灣加大東亞圖書館。

1991 年陳淑妍擔任南海岸中華文化協會籌款委員會主席，曾舉辦籌款活動，贊助爾灣加大的巴克萊劇院。她在籌款活動中，介紹華裔程榮庭與程宋瑞玉夫婦移民美國的故事，以及巴克萊劇院將表演廳命名為程氏大廳的由來。為了支持當時剛落成的巴克萊劇院，她與一群好友組成非營利組織三三藝苑，將音樂、話劇、舞蹈等表演藝術推上程氏大廳的舞台，豐富了本地的文化與藝術層次。

陳淑妍謙稱，教育是百年大計，教育文化事業需要社區共同投入支持，她在爾灣擔任義工，結識許多志同道合的好友，能累積一些回饋社區的成就，其實都是靠朋友們慷慨相助。（蕭迪玉撰文)