The Mandarin Immersion Model
Research-backed bilingual education that develops whole-brain thinkers and global communicators.
What Is Our Immersion Model?
East Voyager Academy, North Carolina's first Mandarin immersion charter school, opened its doors on August 27, 2018. Students in Kindergarten through 4th grade are instructed in Chinese for 75% of the day. Starting in 5th grade, classes shift to a 50/50 model, with 50% of instruction delivered in Mandarin.
Qualified, native Mandarin teachers deliver Math, Science, and Social Studies in Mandarin, using NC state-adopted, standards-aligned textbooks. Native English-speaking, NC-certified teachers head up English Language Arts, which accounts for approximately 25% of the school day in lower grades and 50% in upper grades. Pre-K through 5th grade classrooms use a two-teacher model, pairing a Chinese teacher with an English-speaking counterpart who supports vocabulary acquisition.
Students don't just learn Mandarin - they think in Mandarin. Physical Education, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Art are also taught in Mandarin, so the language becomes part of the school day rather than an add-on subject.
Why Immersion Works: Brain Benefits
Decades of research consistently show that bilingual students have measurable cognitive, academic, and social advantages that last a lifetime.
Executive Function
Managing two language systems daily strengthens the brain's executive control - the set of skills governing attention, memory, and cognitive flexibility. Bilingual students are better at focusing on what matters and filtering out distractions.
Academic Performance
Research from Stanford, York University, and UC San Diego shows immersion students match or outperform monolingual peers in all academic areas by 3rd grade - despite initially learning content in two languages.
Empathy & Perspective
Bilingual children demonstrate higher social-emotional intelligence and are better at understanding perspectives different from their own - a critical 21st-century skill.
Career Readiness
Mandarin is the world's most widely spoken language. EVA graduates enter the workforce - or college - with a proficiency that adds immediate value in business, healthcare, diplomacy, and technology.
Immersion Classrooms
A Day in the Life at EVA
Here is what a typical day looks like for an EVA student in Grades 3–5. Language tags indicate the language of instruction.
🌸 Mandarin Block
📖 English Block
English + Mandarin + Spanish
EVA students achieve genuine proficiency in English and Mandarin K-8. In 2024, EVA added Spanish as a language choice for middle school students in Grades 5-8, offered as an alternative to their foreign language study requirement.
English
Full grade-level literacy, reading, and writing proficiency. NC EOG and EOC ready.
Mandarin Chinese
Conversational to advanced proficiency. Students read, write, and think in Chinese. HSK-aligned milestones.
Spanish
Offered as an immersion study option for Grades 5-8 middle school scholars.
Ready to Experience Immersion?
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