Our Team

Meet our Team

Experienced, professional educators

Our teachers are native and multilingual speakers with extensive experience living, attending school, and working outside of the US. Our academic team members are experts in early childhood education and language acquisition.
All full-time staff is trained in First Aid and CPR.

Katia Edrenkina

Founder and CEO

Raising two trilingual children in San Antonio inspired Katia to found ISSA as a support for other parents raising multilingual children. She calls San Antonio home, but living on three continents taught Katia the importance of breaking language barriers. Katia holds a Master’s degree in finance from Financial University in Russia and a Master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. She brings 15+ years of business and entrepreneurial experience to ISSA. 

Prior to founding ISSA, Katia served as Vice President of Customer Success for Rallyware, a SaaS company, and before that as Manager of Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship for Samsung Electronics America, where she developed an award-winning environmental stewardship program for children across the United States.

Caroline Olivares

School Director

Born in Santiago de Chile, Caroline Olivares brings over 10 years of professional teaching experience with a special emphasis in Literacy Education. Teacher by vocation and artist by hobby, she loves painting, drawing, and crafting arts.
Caroline brings extensive knowledge in academic management, curriculum development, and school programs implementation, which she gained during her teaching career in Chile, prior to joining ISSA.
Caroline received Licenciada en Educacion/Bachelor of Education, with specialization in Elementary Education, from Universidad Diego Portales. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Curriculum and Educational Administration from the Universidad de Santiago de Chile and the UNESCO Graduate Diploma in Environmental Education from the Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi.

Stephanie Maksimenko 

Director of Operations

Originally from France, Stephanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications from E.S.G.C.I. In addition to that, she also has a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing and Management from PA College and an MBA in International Business and Trade from Dublin Business School. She has vast experience in international business development, market research, management, and visual graphic design. In addition to her work in the field of business, she also has experience as a French teacher at the French Cultural Center in Boston.

Anne-Victoire Bonnamour

Director of Admissions / French Lead teacher

Anne-Victoire comes to ISSA after eight years at the Agnes Irwin School (AIS)—one of the top independent schools in the Philadelphia area—where she taught French in the Middle and Upper school and was Dean of 5th and 6th grades. Prior to AIS, she held teaching positions at UT Austin, Lehigh University, and Montgomery County Community College. Anne-Victoire holds both a BA and MA from the Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III). Born and raised in Lyon, France, Anne-Victoire is thrilled to be in Central Texas with her husband, Fred, and their three children, Romane, Joseph, and Sacha. 

Shuang Hoffer

Mandarin Chinese Elementary Teacher 

Originally from Sichuan Province in China, the home of Giant Pandas, Shuang has a passion for teaching young children. She started working in our Saturday program and, shortly after, joined our full-time school faculty in 2021. She applies her creative background in event planning and marketing to activities and lesson planning at ISSA. Shuang holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

Alicia Victoria-Friederich

Spanish Preschool Lead Teacher

Alicia holds Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy from Universidad Cristobal Colon, Mexico and brings more than 20 years of professional experience to ISSA. In her extensive career as educator, she taught preschool and elementary school students in Spanish and English in private and public schools in San Antonio. Alicia Victoria was recognized as distinguished teacher in NEISD.

Outside of her professional life, Alicia enjoys cooking, walking, dancing and spending time with her family.

Yan (Jenny) Wang 

Mandarin Chinese Preschool Lead Teacher

Jenny obtained her Teacher’s Credential BA from Teacher’s College in Shenyang, China and her Chinese Language Teacher Certificate from the Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China. After moving to the United States, she obtained her Associate Child Care Teacher Certificate from the Santa Barbara City College in CA. She has been working as a preschool teacher in California and then Texas for the past 7 years.

Lydyah El’Natan

French Preschool Lead Teacher

Born in Togo and raised in France,  Lydyah is a trilingual teacher with a Masters from the University of Poitiers (France) in Applied Foreign Languages. She has more than 10 years of educational experience in San Antonio, TX. Prior to ISSA, Lydyah taught French at an IB World School in SAISD. Lydyah loves music and singing and incorporates music in her teaching. Her classes are always engaging and fun! 

Lionel Kayibanda

French Preschool Teacher / PE Teacher

Originally from Rwanda, Lionel lived and studied in Belgium and France since he was 6 years old. He attended the University of St. Louis in Brussels, Belgium before moving to the
United States where he graduated from Texas A&M International University in Laredo with a BA in Arts and Sciences. He  worked as youth counselor in the Upward Bound Program prior to joining ISSA. 

Lionel likes history and politics, he enjoys music, plays soccer and is a huge sports fan.

Carmen Bedolla

Spanish Preschool Teacher

Originally from Mexico, Carmen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Family Therapy from the Universidad Autonoma de la Laguna. She brings her extensive experience in psychological counseling to ISSA. Some of her previous and most recent experience lies in teaching children of preschool and elementary age.

Yinan Chen

Mandarin Chinese Preschool Teacher 

Yinan is a bi-lingual Mandarin and English speaking teacher. Prior to joining ISSA, she worked as Instructor of Chinese language and culture at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Yinan has been teaching with us since 2021 in our Saturday classes. We are thrilled that she has joined our full-time faculty!

Charlotte Kennedy Harper

English Language Arts Teacher

Charlotte holds a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education and a Montessori Preprimary Diploma. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in early childhood and elementary education to ISSA, including the science of reading and evidence-based reading instruction. Her special courses include “Success in Reading and Writing” and “Math Their Way”.

Most recently, Charlotte worked as preschool teacher at the UTSA Child Development Center for almost 10 years. Prior to that, she taught kindergarten at Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary School for 3 years, and before that, she taught in various private elementary and Montessori schools in Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas for almost 20 years.

Classes Faculty

Anita Sangbong

Originally from Cameroon, Anita is a bi-lingual student at UTSA majoring in Biology and minoring in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Anita is looking to become a medical lawyer. She has been teaching French at ISSA since January 2021. 

Margot Duque

Margot is a UTSA student, pursuing a bachelor degree in Public Policy with a minor in French. In 2020, Margot spent  7 months in Belgium as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. She has been teaching French at ISSA since September 2020.

Lyudmila Samorodov

Lyudmila is native Russian speaker with extensive experience teaching Russian to children and adults. She has been working with ISSA since January 2021. 

Kelsey Sanchez

Kelsey is a Spanish-English bilingual graduate from UTSA with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies. Kelsey has been working with ISSA since summer of 2021.  

Our Board of Directors

We're delighted to introduce our board or directors who are sharing their educational, entrepreneurial, financial, leadership, legal, creative, and marketing expertise on our behalf. Meet our exceptionally talented, highly accomplished board members.

Audrey Brunner

Audrey Brunner - Bio

Born in Switzerland and raised in France, Audrey serves as Political Director at SATX Consultants. She is currently finishing a B.A. degree in Politics and Law at University of Texas San Antonio, with law school in view. Audrey is focused on using her international skills, network, and perspective to promote and advance San Antonio’s zestful, resilient culture. Thanks to her bicultural upbringing, she strongly believes in enabling children to access the gift of learning and growing as multilingual world citizens. In her spare time, Audrey travels overseas to enjoy art exhibitions, sailing, and visiting her brother, Armand.

"As a board member, I can help bring awareness to ISSA and its one-of-a-kind learning environment. Here, children can be exposed to—and immersed in—a mosaic of cultures from the beginning of their education without having to travel."

Read Bio

Pattie Davies

Pattie Davies - Bio

Dr. Mary Patricia “Pattie” Davis brings an entire life and career in education to the ISSA Board. She serves as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a passion for Catholic education and global experiences as an educator. Dr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education; Master of Education in educational administration from University of Arkansas; Ph.D. in education focused on international education and entrepreneurship from University of Incarnate Word; and executive Master of Nonprofit Administration from University of Notre Dame. Her experience in dual-language startup organizations and nonprofit management will be vital to ISSA's development and growth.

"I'm enthusiastic about seeing an international school flourish in San Antonio and to contribute to helping reframe learning in alignment with the needs of a growing global community."

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Katia Edrenkina

Katia Edrenkina - Bio

Katia is the Founder and CEO of the International School of San Antonio. Raising two trilingual children in San Antonio inspired Katia to found ISSA as a support for other parents raising multilingual children. Katia holds a Master’s degree in finance from Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and a Master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. She brings 15+ years of business and entrepreneurial experience to ISSA. Prior to founding ISSA, Katia served as Vice President of Customer Success for Rallyware, a SaaS company. Prior to Rallyware, as Manager of Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America, she developed an award-winning environmental stewardship program for children across the United States.

"Living on three continents demonstrated the importance of breaking language barriers. Our mission is to bring that critical life experience to children and families through fun, premier-quality language immersion education."

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Mary Field

Mary Field - Bio

Mary earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University, focused on language learning. She lived in China for seven years, teaching in an IB-accredited kindergarten and holds certificates from the Chinese Ministry in Education (Hanban) in Mandarin Chinese. Her dream has always been to create a language immersion program, and ISSA offered the opportunity. Mary played a critical role in the development of International School of San Antonio as its first Head of School.

"Being a multilingual global citizen has greatly enriched my life. I want to create these kinds of opportunities for other people—especially children—through my experience in children's language education."

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Andrea
McBride Fu

Andrea McBride Fu - Bio

Andrea's career spans education, science, and app development—giving her unique insight into learning for a broad spectrum of students. She integrated technology into the classroom, teaching biology, chemistry, college-credit chemistry, physics, and technology classes in middle and high school. With a focus on high engagement and hands-on learning, Andrea successfully helped students—from special education to highly gifted—master scientific skills. After a decade of teaching, Andrea taught herself mobile app development and served as a mobile engineer at Dell Technologies.

"ISSA is unique in San Antonio for offering multiple languages, as well as special music and art classes, in one place. As a parent, I'm passionate about quality education and enabling all children to benefit from a multilingual education." 

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Andrea Garcia Holmes

Andrea Garcia Holmes - Bio

Andrea served as a corporate attorney for airline and energy companies in Latin America for more than 20 years. She currently serves on the board of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio and is studying at Yale School of Management, enrolled in the Executive Education's Women's Leadership Program. Andrea also has participated in an international conference with YPO, a global leadership community of chief executives. After the birth of her daughter, Andrea returned to college and studied baking at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada, which fuels her hobby of creating cakes. Andrea's daughter speaks English and Spanish and is learning Mandarin Chinese at ISSA.

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Julya Jara

Julya Jara - Bio

Julya Jara is a multidisciplinary artist and professional born in the Czech Republic and raised in Latvia. She serves as Director of Development at Musical Bridges Around the World in San Antonio, a multicultural arts organization focused on education and creating performances by internationally renowned artists for the public, underserved youth, and the elderly. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from The Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute in Moscow. Julya has acted in local theatres and worked as a photographer, videographer, and video editor. As a multidisciplinary artist, she was a part of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program.

"As a multilingual person and world traveler, I know that language can transcend barriers. I'm excited to be part of the visionary ISSA team and contribute to the school's growth and development."

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Asel M. Lindsey

Asel M. Lindsey - Bio

Asel is a senior attorney in the Taxation group at Dykema law firm in the San Antonio office. In addition to her extensive business law expertise, Asel also assists and provides counsel to nonprofit organizations. She earned a B.S. from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, a J.D. from Washburn University School of Law, and an L.L.M. from New York University School of Law. She also served on the YWCA USA Board of Directors in the past. She speaks both English and Russian, and her daughter currently attends ISSA.

"ISSA provides an amazing opportunity for San Antonio, and I want to see it grow into a pillar of the community. As a Board member, I can provide my professional support, as well as promote the school within my networks."

Read Bio

Join the Team

The International School of San Antonio offers a unique opportunity for teachers to impact students in a dynamic environment.

Current openings

Type de Poste: Poste à temps plein
Lieu: San Antonio, Texas
Genre de travail: Enseignant(e) d’école maternelle
Salaire:  Concurrentiel; déterminé en fonction des qualifications et de l’expérience
Avantages: L’ensemble complet d’avantages sociaux

DESCRIPTION DU POSTE

Notre enseignant(e) de français organise des activités et des expériences pédagogiques appropriées aux enfants, dans un environnement d’immersion dans la langue française. L’enseignant(e) les aide à réaliser leur potentiel de croissance intellectuelle, émotionnelle, physique, et sociale. Il/Elle permet à ses élèves de développer l’aptitude et les compétences nécessaires à leur socialisation.

RESPONSABILITIÉS

Les responsabilités de base comprennent:

  • Préparer par écrit et dispenser des cours conformes aux programmes de l’École. Pouvoir fournir un justificatif de ces préparations à toute réquisition.
  • Tenir compte dans la préparation des leçons de diverses méthodes d’apprentissage des élèves.
  • Planifier et employer les stratégies d’enseignement et d’apprentissage, les activités, le matériel et l’équipement appropriés, qui démontrent la compréhension des méthodes d’apprentissage et des besoins des élèves.
  • Évaluer les méthodes d’apprentissage des élèves et utiliser les résultats pour planifier les activités pédagogiques.
  • Toutes autres tâches éventuelles.
QUALIFICATIONS RECHERCHÉES

Études & Expérience Professionnelle:

  • Licence d’une université agréée
  • Un Master FLE serait un plus
  • Formation à l’enseignement au préscolaire
  • Deux ans d’expérience dans l’enseignement d’une population diverse d’enfants âgés de 2 à 5 ans.

Connaissances et Compétences particulières:

  • Maîtrise du français qui doit être la langue maternelle du postulant/de la postulante.
  • Expérience dans la planification et la mise en œuvre d’un programme d’études adapté au développement des enfants
  • Capacité à enseigner les étudiants et à gérer leur comportement
  • De grandes compétences en matière d’organisation, de communication et de relations humaines
  • Une expérience précédente en pédagogie active et centrée sur l’étudiant serait un avantage.
  • Avoir une apparence et une attitude professionnelles
  • Avoir l’esprit d’équipe et être flexible pour pouvoir s’adapter à tout changement

Compétences Supplémentaires:
Le postulant/La postulante doit être:

  • Conscient(e) que chaque enfant est unique, capable d’apprendre, et capable d’atteindre son plein potentiel
  • Créatif(ve) et chaleureux(euse)
  • Fiable et ponctuel(le)
  • Patient(e) et réfléchi(e)

Exigences supplémentaires:

  • Immunisations à jour
  • Pas de casier judiciaire
  • Doit avoir l’autorisation de travailler aux États-Unis

Nous accordons de l’importance à:

  • la qualité
  • l’innovation
  • la créativité
  • le travail acharné
  • la diversité, l’équité, et l’inclusion
  • l’optimisme
  • les relations personnelles et les partenariats

Le salaire sera décidé en fonction des qualifications et de l’expérience du candidat choisi/de la candidate choisie.
Pour postuler, envoyez votre CV à l’adresse info@issatx.org.

普通话沉浸式教学幼儿教师    

 

圣安东尼奥国际学校：沉浸式教学幼儿园教师

圣安东尼奥国际学校正在寻找一位充满热情的沉浸式幼儿园教育教师。 我们的老师通过沉浸式教学，为学生提供适当的学习活动和学习体验，同时让他们沉浸在目标语言当中。 在学习的过程中老师帮助学生激发他们自己的智力、情感、身体和社会发展的潜力，同时让学生发展自己的能力和技能，以在将来的社会中成功发挥作用。

 

关于圣安东尼奥国际学校

圣安东尼奥国际学校是一所提供综合性语言沉浸式教育的私立学校，我们的学前班和幼儿园课程面向 3 至 5 岁的儿童，课程内容帮助小朋友们可以流利并自信地使用目标语言，同时为他们将来能有更广泛的教育和职业机会做好准备。 家长可以为孩子选择法语、中文或西班牙语课程。

 

我们小学部的国际课程以法语、西班牙语或普通话和英语作为目标语言授课。 这个阶段的学生可以很好的发展他们两种语言的阅读技能，并建立他们在数学、科学、社会研究和艺术方面的基础知识， 在小学初等课程的学习中，我们也经常鼓励学生们开拓思维提出问题。

 

工作职责：

– 根据课程计划向学龄前学生教授指定的科目

-计划、准备、组织和开展与课程相关的活动

-在休息、午餐、午睡和接送期间监督孩子，确保孩子们的安全和身体健康

– 根据年龄、发展水平和学习需求制定不同的课程计划

– 积极发展家长和教师联系，并促进家长教师的合作关系

– 与家长沟通，了解孩子的学业进展

– 与 ISSA 同事合作，提供高质量的学习体验，并确保整个课程的连续性

– 使用不同的测评方法来评估学生的学习进展，以及他们的在学习过程中的优势和劣势

– 营造友好、尊重、开放和诚实的工作环境，

– 以实用、干净、整洁和有吸引力的方式组织教室空间，酌情鼓励孩子们独立使用课堂用具

– 监督学生在校内的活动，确保教室和校园内每个学生的安全

– 参加提升专业能力的教育培训和研讨会

– 灵活处理临时分配的工作

– 能搬抬 35 磅的重物

 

任职要求：

经验丰富、喜欢在多元化和国际化环境中工作，有在国际学校工作的经验，尤其是IB PYP授权学校的工作经验者优先。

 

– 教育或相关领域学士学位，硕士学位/教师证优先

– 流利表达并使用至少一种目标语言（普通话）

– 具有使用跨学科课程框架、设计引人入胜、以学生为中心的课程计划的经验

– 清楚了解儿童发展的各个阶段和儿童的社会/情感需求

-优秀的课堂管理能力

-能够在混龄、多语种教室中舒适地工作

– 必须具备良好的办公技能，能够使用标准的办公设备和软件，包括但不限于电脑、打印机、覆膜机等。

-必须通过背景调查

 

福利待遇

薪酬报酬与个人经验和能力相匹配，全职员工享受带薪休假、保险和其他福利。 学校基于NEISD时间表来设置我们的教学日程安排。

 

如何申请

请将求职信和简历发送至 info@issatx.org

 

Job Title
and Description 助理教师 (中文沉浸式的幼儿学校)

 

助理教师协助主班任，给孩子们提供指导。助理教师协助创造一个积极向上的学习环境。助理教师协助教师协助创建学习进度计划。

 Job

Requirements 任职要求

 1. 热爱幼教工作，适宜从事幼教工作；具有较强的学习能力，能够不断学习，提高自身素质。

2. 本科及以上学历，心理学、学前教育、英语教育、对外汉语等相关专业

3.  具有1年以上的幼教工作经验

4. 了解3-5岁不同年龄阶段宝宝发展的基本特点、生理特点、心理发展特点

5. 英语等级证者优先。

6. 必须符合Texas Health and Human Services的要求

 

Job
Responsibilities岗位职责

 1．热爱幼儿教育事业，坚持教养并重的原则，明确幼儿园保教并重的原则，观察了解幼儿，根据Texas规定的幼儿园课程标准，结合本班幼儿的具体情况做好本班教育教学的各种计划，做到计划齐全、安排合理。

 2．认真备课及进行课堂教学，运用直观形象的教具，力争取得良好的教学效果。

 3．严格执行幼儿一日生活常规及教师一日生活规程。

 4．严格执行幼儿园安全制度、卫生保健制度，指导并配合保育员管理本班幼儿生活和做好卫生保健工作，注重幼儿良好的卫生习惯、行为习惯及能力的培养，注重矫正幼儿的缺点。

 5．经常和家长取得联系，了解幼儿的家庭教育环境 。

 6．做好幼儿入园、离园的组织工作。

 7．日常工作随时注意异常情况的发生及处理工作。

 8．完成学校领导安排的其他工作。

Pour postuler, envoyez votre CV à l’adresse info@issatx.org.

Apply Now

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