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Elementary Campus Teachers

90

Stephanie Villamizar

90

Elementary Music Teacher &
Middle Campus Spanish Teacher

 svillamizar@eastpointsc.org
 803-926-5180

Stephanie grew up in Myrtle Beach and attended Columbia College where she graduated with a B.A. in Music with an emphasis in Voice in 2017. Previously she was a voice and piano instructor for a local music school and a preschool teacher. After school, Stephanie is the voice instructor for the Broadway Bound Musical Theatre Company and performs in community theatre productions. She is very excited to be a part of the EPA community and to be a panda!

E. Ruiz

Elaine Ruiz

E. Ruiz

Fourth Grade Teacher

 eruiz@eastpointsc.org

Elaine Ruiz grew up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and attended High school there. She attended college at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC, graduating with a degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Counseling. Ruiz began teaching formally in 2005, teaching High-School Advanced English Classes in the Dominican Republic. She also taught elementary grade-level classes for about 13 years, covering all core subjects for grades third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, as well as Art and Spanish classes. She will begin working at East Point Academy in August 2021 and is very excited to be part of this learning community. In her free time, you can find Ruiz reading, jogging, painting, cooking, or writing from the heart.

Z. Huang

Zhangxun Huang

Z. Huang

Fifth Grade Teacher

 zhuang@eastpointsc.org
 
Zhangxun was born and raised in Zhejiang Province, China, and got his Bachelor’s degree in TCSOL(Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages) there. After graduating from the MSc Language Teaching program, in the University of Edinburgh, he felt honored to join the EPA family in 2019. He has been to the continents of Asia, Europe, and North America. He hopes to visit more in the future! He likes reading technical news and watching new tech product reviews. He believes that education is not only about knowledge itself but also about how to obtain and absorb it.
T. Jiang

Huaying “Tracy” Jiang

T. Jiang

Fifth Grade Teacher

 hjiang@eastpointsc.org
 
Huaying Jiang grew up in Southern China and attained Huzhou Teachers College graduating with a degree in English Education. She is now working on her Master’s Degree in Education at Clemson University. Ms. Jiang began working as an education counselor and English teacher for many years and came to the United States to teach in 2014. Ms. Jiang taught for 5 years in a public school immersion program. She began working at East Point Academy in 2019 and she teaches 5th Grade Science. In her free time, you can find Ms. Jiang working in her vegetable garden in her backyard.
85

Rachel Haltiwanger

85

ELA Teacher

 rhaltiwanger@eastpointsc.org
 
Rachel Haltiwanger grew up in Greer, SC, and attended The University of South Carolina graduating with a degree in Elementary Education and an Endorsement in Gifted and Talented Education. This will be Haltiwanger’s third year teaching and her third year as the 5th Grade Reading teacher. In her free time, you can find Haltiwanger at the gym, spending time with friends and family, or watching basketball. She is an avid Gamecocks Women’s Basketball fan!
christal-weymouth

Christal Weymouth

christal-weymouth

Fifth Grade Teacher

 cweymouth@eastpointsc.org
 
Christal Weymouth currently teaches 5th Grade Social Studies at East Point Academy. This is her second year at East Point Academy and her 17th year of teaching. While Weymouth is originally from Maryland, she has lived in South Carolina for the past 14 years. She has two wonderful children ages 16 and 19, and enjoys spending time with them, traveling, and enjoying the outdoors.
J. Wang

Jingru Wang

J. Wang

Second Grade Teacher

 jiwang@eastpointsc.org
 
Jingru Wang grew up in Hainan, China, and attended Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Sun Yat-sen University graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a foreign language in 2006 and a Master’s degree in Chinese Language and Literature in 2012. Jingru Wang began working as a full-time Chinese teacher in 2006. Before she came to the US, she taught Chinese at university levels in China and Poland for 10 years as well as part-time work in high schools and kindergartens. Before she joined East Point Academy, she taught in the Chinese immersion program of Lexington School District One. She began working at East Point Academy in 2021 and has been feeling excited to learn and grow with wonderful students, families, colleagues, and the school! In her free time, you can find Wang cooking, singing, sleeping, hanging out with families and friends, and traveling.
L. Gao

Lujia Gao

L. Gao

Fifth Grade Teacher

 lgao@eastpointsc.org
 
Lujia Gao holds a Master’s degree in foreign language education from the University of Pittsburgh. His last job was teaching primary school students Chinese at Pittsburgh Chinese School where he could apply his study in the university and learn more about language teaching. It was his experience teaching Chinese to American high school students at a summer camp that made him realize that language education should be tailored to the student’s proficiency levels, learning styles, and motivations. He believes that all students should study in a low-anxiety, student-centered environment.
H. Pepin

Heather Pepin

H. Pepin

Fourth Grade Teacher

 hpepin@eastpointsc.org
 
The 22/23 school year is Heather Pepin’s 8th year as a “Panda.” Before East Point, she taught in Lexington School District One, and Saluda. A majority of her teaching experience is in the fourth grade; although she has taught second and third grade. This will be Ms. Pepin’s 18th year in the classroom. Her undergraduate education degree is from Francis Marion University, and she has a Master’s in education from Southern Wesleyan University. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling if the opportunity arises, painting, gardening, working out with her E2M trainers virtually, and singing in the choir. She has been blessed to be able to travel to Greece and China and would love to visit other continents. Marley and Pippi, her cats, are a few of her favorite things! She is so excited about this upcoming year at East Point Academy!
P. Gao

Ping Gao

P. Gao

Third Grade Teacher

 pgao@eastpointsc.org
 
Ping Gao grew up in Tianjin, northeast of China. She received her bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Tianjin Foreign Language Study University. After three years of working with 3- to 12-year-old students in several different settings, Gao decided to get into a master’s degree program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Auburn University in order to hone her teaching effectiveness. As a second language learner and speaker, she knows the challenges and problems encountered in learning a second language and can help students effectively overcome difficulties. Gao joined Panda Family in 2019 after she graduated and has really enjoyed teaching and learning with her students here! She believes language is more than a tool of communication; it is one of the most beautiful things in the world that can bring us to explore the big big world. In her spare time, she likes traveling, cooking, and is on the way to learning the ukulele. She is always curious about learning and knowing everything new.

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