Faculty & Staff Directory

Christine is the proud mom of two CAIS kids (Caroline and Woods). After spending nearly two decades in tech, she decided that she needed a career change. Since she loves mentoring, learning, and helping others, teaching seemed like a natural fit—she cannot wait to support kids on their educational journey! In her free time, she works on one of her numerous hobbies, including knitting, sewing, cross-stitching, ceramics, and beekeeping (feel free to ask her about any of these!).

BEGAN AT CAIS 2016

Agnes Tong has been working in Early Childhood Development for the last 20 years as a teacher and an assistant director. She is fluent in Chinese and English. She shares, “It is my pleasure to work at CAIS. I heard a lot of great things about CAIS. I am very excited to join the Auxiliary team and to be a part of this community!” Please feel to contact her if you have questions regarding Auxiliary Programs at Alice A. Carnes Campus.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2022

Tsai Laoshi came to CAIS from Avenues: The World School, where she was a head teacher in Kindergarten for the past 8 years. Prior to that, she also worked at the Global Montessori International School (Berkeley, CA) as a head teacher in Chinese sections of the kindergarten through grade five. She has taught Mandarin and English as a Second Language (ESL) at many other educational institutions, including Germantown Friends School (Philadelphia, PA), Lutheran Children and Family Service (Philadelphia, PA) and Russell Byers Charter School (Philadelphia, PA). She also taught English for three years at various schools in Taiwan.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2020

(See also, School Spotlight—Chu Hsi Tseng)

Hailing from Taiwan, 曾竺西 Chu Hsi Tseng has been working in the Early Childhood Education field for almost twenty years. As a second-generation mainlander in Taiwan, a woman with a lesbian identity, and a family member involved in caring for someone with a disability, she grew up with an understanding of multiculturalism and diversity. She has been passionate about bringing DEI to the school setting and providing an inclusive culture that allows all community members to feel respected and valued in the school.

Growth-oriented and well-versed in educational research, she is the embodiment of a life-long learner. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field, with a second master’s degree in STEM Curriculum and Design. She passionately believes in child-centered pedagogy and adopts a play-based, inquiry-driven approach in Chinese immersion early years classrooms. Her research interest centers on Chinese immersion teaching and instruction and on teacher education. She would like to support early years teachers to build “the image of teacher,” someone who has teachers’ agency and is engaged in continual renewal and readjustment informed by reflection, experimentation, and practice. She believes that only when teachers have awareness of the importance of a growth mindset and engage themselves in the learning process will their students see the model and benefit from it.

Outside of the educational sphere, she enjoys spending time outdoors. She has visited 27 national parks in the United States and has been on many backpack trips. Her greatest accomplishment was hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2020

Ms. Wallace studied Applied Psychology and Human Development within the Lynch School of Education at Boston College before teaching at a charter school in New York City. A mentor teacher and team lead specializing in differentiation and data-driven curriculum design, she also holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Hunter College. Ms. Wallace is particularly enjoys deepening her knowledge of Chinese culture and language, and the connections she’s formed with CAIS students and faculty!

BEGAN AT CAIS 2021

Jindan Laoshi is originally from ZheJiang, China. She has been in the US for almost five years and is passionate about education and teaching Chinese language and culture to young learners. Besides teaching, she enjoys hiking, fitness, and playing with her two cats: Teddy and Caroline.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2011

A certified Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) assessor, Wang Laoshi graduated from Taiyuan Normal University with a BA in Education and began her career in a Montessori preschool before joining CAIS in 2011. Wang Laoshi is passionate about her career in education and finds her work incredibly meaningful. She believes in creating a welcoming environment, continually focusing on meeting the varied needs of the children in her care, and on finding exciting ways to integrate technology.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2009

Having taught at CAIS since 2009, Wang Laoshi brings experience and institutional knowledge to her role this year. In addition to her teaching associate roles, she has taken on long-term lead teaching substitute roles at CAIS several times. She has taught CAIS summer camp as a lead teacher and is a certified Oral Proficiency Interview assessor. Wang Laoshi brings a deep knowledge of the needs of our older Lower School students, and she delights in helping them advance their Chinese.

Began at CAIS 2024

Preschool Teaching Associate Danting Wang has almost five years of teaching experience in children’s education, obtained the Child Development Master Teacher Permit, and received first aid training. She loves her job as a teacher very much, and likes to sing with children and share every story which benefits them. She does a lot of exercise in herspare time, and has a wide range of interests, including playing badminton and volleyball, and especially swimming and playing in the water. Watching movies and reading are also her choices sometimes! 

Jennifer has been at CAIS since 2022 and comes to us with a wealth of experience and a shared commitment to creating a supportive and enriching environment for our children.  In her spare time, she has a passion for boba tea, food, and traveling!