ELEMENTARY TEAM

Luis Carrillo - Kindergarten
Mr. Luis is from Guatemala and graduated from the Universidad Rafael Landivar with a B.A. in Clinical Psychology and from Universidad Del Valle with a Learning Disabilities Teaching Certificate. Before AIS, Mr. Luis was an Elementary Assistant Principal and supported Balanced Literacy implementation by providing training to Spanish teachers at the Colegio Decroly Americano. He also worked at the American School of Guatemala for 6 1/2 years as a Bilingual Teacher Assistant and Kindergarten Spanish Teacher.

Maria Jose Garcia - Pre-K
Ms. Maria Jose is from Guatemala City and holds a B.A. in Education with a specialization in Special Needs from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and a Diploma in Early Childhood Care from Holland College, Canada. Over the last 16+ years, she has worked at the American School of Guatemala, Abegweit First Nation Early Year Centre, UPEI Campus Kids Daycare, The Mothership Childcare Center, and Holland College Early Year Centre, PEI, Canada.

Lizzeth Eluvia Sánchez - Elementary
Miss Lizzy is originally from Antigua, Guatemala and she studied in the field of Special Education. Miss Lizzy also holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology, with a specialty in clinical practice as well as master's degree in Disability at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Education and Learning and a master's degree in Neurolearning from the Rafael Landivar University. Miss Lizzy specializes in the area of disability, inclusion, clinical neuropsychology, and neuroscience and she has 13 years of teaching experience at the primary and university levels.

Paula Rodriguez - Elementary
Ms. Paula Rodriguez has been part of the AIS community for the last 9 years. She holds an Elementary Teacher Certification and an associate degree in Early Childhood Education from Universidad Landivar de Guatemala. She is currently pursuing a degree in Primary Education. This will be her 13 year teaching experience. Miss Paula has taught many grades including Pre-k, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. When she is not teaching, Miss Paula enjoys running, hiking volcanoes, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends. Miss Paula has a passion for helping all children reach their potential and loves to challenge students to be curious and take chances when learning.

Jennifer de Leon - Elementary
Ms. Jeni holds an Elementary Teaching Diploma with emphasis in English as a Second Language, ESL, from Liceo Secretarial Bilingüe. She also holds a B.A. International Relations from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and a M.A. In Teaching from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. She has worked as an Elementary and Kindergarten ESL teacher.

Maria Jose Monzon - Elementary
Ms. Maria holds a B.A. in Education and Social Sciences from the Mesoamericana University. She has extensive experience in teaching in various schools in Guatemala City.

Eunice Bejarano - Elementary
Ms. Eunice is originally from Antigua, Guatemala. She graduated from the Universidad Mariano Gálvez with a bachelor's degree in Education and a specialization in Educational Administration. She also obtained a certificate in Teaching Writing in Spanish following Balanced Literacy Units of Study from the Teachers College, Columbia University. She works as an English-Spanish tutor and this is her 5th year at AIS, in a Spanish teacher capacity. Before joining AIS, she was the Godparent Coordinator at "Common Hope", a local non-profit organization, and also worked for Buckner Guatemala as a Mission Coordinator. Her pastimes include: walking, running, baking, enjoying nature and spending time with her dog, family and friends.

Kimberly Griffith - Elementary
Ms. Kim has over 25 years of teaching and has worked at AIS since 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Science Cum Laude in Elementary Education with a minor in Mathematics, from the Bowie State University and a Certificate in Instructional Technology from Towson State University.

Oscar Cardenas - Elementary
Mr. Oscar originally comes from Zaragoza, Chimaltenango but lived in Los Angeles California for over 15 years. He studied at the University San Carlos and completed a pensum in architecture. He holds an associate degree in education from the University Galileo and is currently pursuing a masters degree in psychopedagogy. He has taught in many schools throughout Guatemala, such as El Roble, Sol Alto, and IGA.. This is his 7th year at AIS, and he enjoys being part of his students' education as well as motivating them to be the best they can.

Lany Conde - Early Childhood / Toddlers
Ms. Lany holds a Learning Disabilities Teaching Certificate from the Universidad del Valle and a Educational Innovation Teaching Certificate from the Universidad Galileo. She is currently completing an additional B.A in Psycho-pedagogy. Ms. Lany was an English teacher from Kindergarten to 6th grade at Colegio Bilingüe Campo Verde for 6 years and at Colegio Decroly Americano for 4 years.

Lisbeth de Solorzano - Elementary / Spanish Department Head
Ms. Lisbeth has worked at AIS since the beginning of the school in 2011. She has multiple degrees including Profesorado en Educación Especial and Profesorado en Problemas de Aprendizaje. She received her BA degree from Del Valle University in Education and her Master's in Education Administration. She recently received her PhD in Education. Ms. Lisbeth has over 25 years of teaching experience from Pre K to University in various national and international schools, including in the US.

Mayra Barreno - Elementary
Miss Mayra has been a teacher for more than 10 years, teaching students at different levels. In the past 7 years, Miss Mayra has worked at different international schools in Guatemala. She holds a bachelor's degree in English, with a specialization in educational technology from Universidad Mariano Galvez. In 2015, she completed a teacher training program at Gifu University in Japan. She has been an exchange student at the University of Minnesota in the US and APTECH Computer Training Institute in New Delhi, India. Miss Mayra enjoys seeing her students grow emotionally and academically. Her favorite activities are traveling, walking in nature and spending time with her daughter, Sophia.

Juan José Cárdenas - Elementary
Mr. JJ is Guatemalan but he grew up in Los Angeles, California. He enjoys spending time with his wife and his three beautiful daughters. Mr. JJ loves playing basketball and soccer in his free time. He graduated from Universidad Galileo, with a teaching certificate in teaching in English. Mr. JJ is a lifelong educator and this is his 23rd year teaching! He taught Spanish at AIS before and in another project-based learning school in Antigua, as well as other schools in Chimaltenango. Mr. JJ loves teaching - knowing that he could reach his students and that his students learned something new is really rewarding to him! Mr. JJ is extremely excited about being a part of the AIS Family again!