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 Landívar 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. 
Lizbeth 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 Solórzano
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. 
Mr. Shawn Smets
Mr. Shawn holds a Bachelor of Science degree, with major in Elementary Education and Spanish Education Certification Minor. He holds a teaching license from the US, as well as Thailand. Mr. Shawn has extensive teaching experience in US public schools as well as at various international schools in Thailand and he will be sharing this amazing expertise with our students as a Primary School English teacher. We are also secretly hoping for some Thai cooking classes! 
Ms. Kerrianne Hartell
Miss Kerrianne is a returning teacher and she will. She is very familiar with Antigua International School and the local community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Masters of Education in Autism, and a Masters of Education in Reading. She also holds a teaching license from Colorado Department of Education, as well as a Special Education Generalist license. Miss Kerrianne has almost 20 years of teaching experience in the US public schools, as well as international schools in Guatemala. This year, apart from taking on the role of a Primary School English teacher, she will also work as a Reading Coach, helping Primary teachers elevate phonics and reading instruction, an area she is extremely passionate about! 
Ms. Yadira Moradel
Ms Yadira is from Honduras. She has a degree of Profesor de Educación Básica en Inglés para I y II ciclo en el grado de licenciatura. Prior to entering AIS, she has worked for bilingual schools for over 20 years. She has also worked in the English Department of the Universidad Pedagogica Francisco Morazan in Honduras for 5 years. Recently she administers and teaches with Fenix Academy. Ms. Yadira is currently studying a Master Degree in Innovation in Education. She is also a Go Green supporter who loves nature. 
Molly Kull, maestra de inglés
Ms. Molly Kull grew up in Northbrook, Illinois about 20 miles from the city of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and graduated with a Bachelors in Science in Elementary Education and endorsements in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. After graduation, she moved to Denver, Colorado to embark on a new adventure and taught six years of Kindergarten and one year of fourth grade. Although she'll miss Denver and the connections she's made with her students, coworkers, and friends, she decided it's time for a new adventure and will be teaching at AIS Elementary level. She can't wait to be a part of this community and meet her future students! Outside of work, Ms. Molly loves to stay active by walking around parks, hiking, exploring new areas, and spending time with friends/family. In the summer, you can find her kayaking, boating, swimming, and water skiing at her family lake house in Wisconsin 
Lilian Ajsijtuj, maestra de español
Lilian Ajsijtuj is originally from San Juan Comalapa, a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango. Ms. Lilian is a bilingual secretary, a Spanish as a second language teacher trained in HSA and a High School Teacher in Pedagogy and Psychology, graduated from the Rafael Landívar University. She is also currently studying for the Diploma in Psychopedagogy at the Rafael Landivar University. Ms. Lilian has worked as a teacher at the middle and high school level. During this time, she learned a lot from students and about their learning process. She was also the seminar advisor for two years and supervised advisor practice for three years. Ms. Lilian also has one year of teaching experience at AIS since having been part of the TTC 2022-2023. Thanks to AIS, she has gained experience in educational innovation and quality international instruction. Last year Ms. Lilian supported speakers of Spanish as a second language and taught writing and reading workshops in 5th grade. She loves reading, writing stories, listening to music, walking, AND singing (although she doesn't think she is ready for our Talent Show yet...). Above all, she loves spending time with his family. 
Robbert Koeslag, maestro de inglés
Mr. Robb is a passionate educator. He has been teaching English, math, and science for the past 10 years, in various places around the globe. Mr. Robb holds a B.A. degree in Commercial Economics and is TEFL-certified. Originally from the Netherlands, he considers himself an avid traveler and citizen of the world. This mindset is reflected in his teachings where compassion, gratitude, and sustainability are considered important values. Mr. Robb enjoys an active lifestyle, yoga, rock climbing, and cycling are just a few of his hobbies. At home, he enjoys cooking, baking, gardening, reading, or watching a show. He is excited to join the AIS team and believes that together we can make a positive impact! |
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. 
Ms. Grace Hilling Miss Grace is originally from Rochester, New York but she has lived in Guatemala for over 7 years! She holds a BA from Colgate University in Environmental Studies and Studio Art. For the past five years, she has been working at either research stations or bilingual project-based learning schools in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and New York. She has fieldwork experience in both terrestrial and marine habitats of North and Central America. Miss Grace is excited to introduce science-based practices to her students, as she originally moved to Guatemala to pursue hands-on work in wildlife conservation at ARCAS. During this experience, she discovered her passion for environmental education. She aspires to motivate students to foster a true appreciation and respect of our natural world in her classroom and around campus. Her favorite activities are trail running, hiking up Acatenango and checking in on the butterfly garden at school. 
Sadie Rhinesmith, Primary Principal Assistant and Service Learning Coordinator in Primary
Ms. Sadie is originally from Wyoming but has called Guatemala her home for the past 11 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies Elementary Education with an emphasis in Spanish from Humboldt State University in California 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 daughter as well as playing with her pets. In terms of our main learning goals for this year, providing quality instruction in reading, continuing to work on inclusion and differentiation, along with systematizing our approach to behavior expectations, continue being our main divisional objectives. We look forward to growing in these areas and so many more with you this school year! 
María 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. 
Ms. Carmen Campos
Miss Carmen Campos is originally from Guatemala and she will be joining us as a Primary School English teacher. She holds a Master of Education with a Concentration in International Teaching, a Bachelor's Degree in Clinical Psychology, as well as teaching certification with a specialty in learning disabilities. Miss Carmen boasts 10 years of experience working at the American School in Guatemala and almost another decade of working at the International School of Turin, in Italy. Miss Carmen is passionate about integrating technology in learning and was awarded Apple Distinguished Educator Award, in 2015. 
Edgar Chajón, maestro de música y arte
Mr. Edgar has been immersed in music and art since he was 4 years old, making this his life and his refuge. He has been a member of symphony orchestras and bands, and his main instruments are the violin and clarinet. As a teacher, he has worked for more than 15 years in educational institutions, the last 11 years at the Municipal Music School of the Municipality of Guatemala, where he stood out as an orchestra director and violin teacher. In his free time he likes to travel and visit small towns, as well as discover new flavors because he is a foodie! Despite being a musician, when it comes to dancing he has two left feet. 
Luz Elena Morales Chávez, maestra de español
Ms. Luz is from Antigua Guatemala and is currently studying for a degree in Pedagogy and Psychology at the University Rafael Landívar. In addition, she is an Early Childhood Education teacher, an area she has been passionate about since she was very young. Ms. Luz loves working with children and seeking to provide them with fun and meaningful learning experiences. Her academic training has given her the tools to do so. Additionally, her experience as a volunteer at Hogar Virgen del Socorro has taught her a lot about the importance of community and how to use empathy in daily life. Last year, Ms. Luz was part of the TTC (Teacher Training Center) at AIS. During this time, she learned that the role of the teacher should be more of a guide and facilitator, rather than a mere transmitter of knowledge. This experience reinforced Ms. Luz´s conviction that learning must be truly centered around the needs and interests of students. Ms. Luz really appreciates this approach, since it represents an innovative pedagogical vision. She believes that this educational philosophy, which puts the student at the center, is essential to providing a quality and meaningful education. In her free time, Ms. Luz likes to practice self-defense sports. She is an active person and eager to continue learning and growing as an educator. 
Alexandra Ramos, maestra de inglés
Ms. Lexie is originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, but has lived in Guatemala for the past 6.5 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with additional certificates in Special Education and TESOL from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis. She has worked in other international schools in Guatemala in |