East Point students learning Mandarin Chinese

Columbia’s East Point Academy merges cultures, inspires minds and expands horizons for students by teaching them Mandarin Chinese, the world’s most spoken language. In the process, East Point earned an “A” ranking as the state’s 2nd best public charter school, according to Mark Bounds (at left in photo with Rotarian Matthew Pollard). Bounds was Capital Rotary’s Sept. 4 guest speaker, tracing the school’s growth to 740 students since its 2011 founding. East Point practices language immersion – meaning that Mandarin Chinese is used extensively in academic classes schoolwide. Mandarin is spoken by over a million people and is the second-fastest growing language globally. South Carolina has an important China connection – Bounds said the country ranks 1st among the state’s export markets while Chinese companies employ over 3,500 of our residents. East Point has classes from 4th grade kindergarten to 8th grade middle school and hopes to add high school instruction. It offers extracurricular activities ranging from clubs to performing arts and sports. As the first school of its kind in the Carolinas, East Point has inspired two more Chinese language immersion institutions. “Together, our students, teachers, staff and parents make East Point Academy a great place to learn and grow,” Bounds said. Before becoming East Point’s head of school, Bounds worked for Lexington-Richland School District Five and for the SC State Department of Education. He served 20 years in the military prior to his education career.