In February 2009, a consensus was built by the members and leaders of Columbia's Chinese community that South Carolina should have a special charter school based upon a comprehensive approach to Chinese language and cultural education. Columbia East Point Academy (CEPA) is a planned charter school with a Chinese immersion program.

The demand for such a school is clear. In 2007, South Carolina exported more than $16 billion of goods to over 150 countries, according

to South Carolina Business

Report - a 21% increase over 2006. South Carolina now ranks among all US states in trade with China and first among states in the Southeast. In 2007, the People's Republic of China purchased over $700 million in goods from the South Carolina and that figure is approaching $1 billion. It is the belief that the South Carolina state and local economies will benefit in the long run from this type of educational endeavor.

The University of South Carolina attracts more international students from China than any other country. About 140 faculty members, staff, and visiting scholars are currently from China. The city of Columbia, SC now has a resident Chinese population approaching 3,000. These Chinese families are eager for their children to maintain their Chinese language learning and be taught an appreciation for the aspects of their Asian culture through the public educational system.

The mission of the Columbia East Point Academy is to nurture the whole child in an atmosphere that is both bilingually and multicultural through the combination of Western and Eastern philosophies and teaching methodologies in order to prepare students for productive lives as citizens of a global market and society. By regulations for charter schools by the South Carolina Department of Education, the demographics of the school must closely match those of the state; ensuring that all minority groups of our state will be included.

The goal of the committee of the Columbia East Point Academy is to open the school in the fall of 2010 in a central location in South Carolina. Aleksandra Chauhan, a PhD candidate at USCColumbia, states that the committee working on the development of this Chinese - immersion school is "an amazing group of people from the US and around the world and is expanding rapidly. … We have made much progress since we first began, but need any help… in spreading the word about CEPA. We are encouraging parents to send letters of support." Thus far, the committee has received 300 letters with 140 potential students committed by their parents to join in the first year.

Columbia East Point Academy has already been approved by the South Carolina Department of Education's Charter School Advisory Committee and is now waiting on the approval at the end of July 2009 by the South Carolina Public Charter School District. They are still accepting letters of support from parents of potential students.

Anyone wishing to support this effort for Columbia East Point Academy, please contact them at (803) 739-4455 or visit their website at www.columbiachi- nese.com.