Paula Rodriguez
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. 
Lizzeth Eluvia Sánchez
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. 
Jennifer de Leon 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. 
Juan José Cárdenas
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! 
Lisbeth de Solorzano
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. 
Orlando Sicajol, Elementary Art and Music
Mr. Orlando is the youngest of 4 brothers, and is married to his wife, Patty, with whom he has 2 children. He graduated from the Universidad Del Valle de Guatemala and worked at the American School of Guatemala for 10 years; he also was the Music Department Director at SETECA and currently owns his own music academy in Santiago, Sacatepéquez. For a long time now he has been involved in different projects such as Orchestra Director, teacher, composer and musician. He loves to spend time with his family, cook, do work projects at home; but more than anything, he loves to play instruments and share his knowledge with others. |
Eunice Bejarano
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. 
Mayra Barreno
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. 
Sadie Rhinesmith de Martinez
Ms. Sadie is originally from Wyoming but has called Guatemala her home for the past 9 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies Elementary Education, with an emphasis in Spanish from Humboldt State University and an elementary teacher certification from Moreland University. She has worked with many different age groups as a teacher, assistant principal, and instructional coach. When she isn’t teaching, she loves being in nature with her husband and playing with her pets. 
Maria Elena Valencia, Physical Education
Ms. Maria Elena, graduated in Physical Education and Human Development from the University Galileo, Guatemala and has a degree in Administration of Sport Institutions. She also holds a Master 's Degree in Business Administration from the University Isabel I, Escuela de Negocios Europea de Barcelona. Maria Elena has 22 years of experience teaching Physical Education, 11 of them at Colegio Decroly Americano CDA, Guatemala. 
Melinda Sismit - Kaqchikel
Ms. Melinda is the Kaqchikel teacher for 2nd-10th grade. Originally from San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, she is of Kaqchikel-speaking, Mayan descent. She has taught Kaqchikel at AIS since 2016. Previously, Melinda taught various themes, including Adolescent Human Rights, and Leadership, to students of all ages where the language of instruction was Kaqchikel. 
Michelle Vasquez
Ms. Michelle is from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish. Through George Mason University, she was able to study abroad in Spain at the University of Granada to widen her knowledge in Spanish linguistics, literature and culture. She also obtained a certificate in Teaching Reading following Balanced Literacy Units of Study from the Teachers College, Columbia University. Over the last 12 years Ms. Michelle has worked as an English lead teacher at a bilingual primary school and other learning centers in the D.C. area teaching students from different levels. She has also worked as an online English teacher through various teaching platforms. |