West Columbia, SC– Sustaining East Point Academy’s tradition of excellence, Assistant Principal (AP) for Language Immersion, Junlan Li, was recently honored with the Ai Ling Guan Educator Prize. This prize is awarded annually to educators who work in the field of Chinese Language Education across Canada and the United States. For 2020, the prize committee selected three educators from hundreds of nominations including Li. Earning this distinction makes her the first educator in both North and South Carolina to receive the Ai Ling Guan Educator Prize. In addition to the honor itself, each honoree receives a $1,000 check. Li made the gracious decision to donate her cash prize back to East Point Academy, a public charter school, saying “I credit my recognition to the excellent teachers, and the strong leadership at East Point Academy.”
Bringing more than twenty years of education experience both in the US and in China, Li oversees the language immersion program and helps direct the instruction of more than twenty language immersion teachers. She has been working at East Point Academy for four years. Before being promoted to AP for Chinese Immersion in 2018, she taught science, math, and Mandarin to both middle-level and elementary students. Remarking on her hard work and success, Head of School Mark Bounds said “Ms. Li is truly deserving of this honor. She brings tremendous talent and energy to our school. Her efforts have been an important part of the success of our language immersion program and our overall academic success.”