Faculty & Staff Directory

Began at CAIS 2024

Xinyi (Cindy) Huang is from Yangzhou, China. She has teaching experience from PreK to 12th grade and also worked as a full-time music teacher in Maryland, responsible for general music, choir, band, and orchestra instruction. She holds a Maryland teaching certificate and has Orff and Kodály music teaching certifications. Her primary instrument is voice, and she has performed many opera pieces and art songs. In her free time, she loves traveling, trying new things, tasting different cuisines, watching sports, and playing pool. She is particularly fond of Yoga, Pilates, and dance, and is currently learning African dance. Making life interesting is one of her favorite things. As an ENFP personality type, she enjoy making friends and socializing. Furthermore, she is passionate about her work, loves building relationships with her students, and enjoys sharing the joy of music with them. 

Began at CAIS in 1999

Originally from Taiwan, for more than two decades Sophia Jang has been one of the first faces greeting families interested in CAIS. She speaks three languages (English, Mandarin, and Cantonese) and has guided many hundreds of families through the CAIS admission process.

Began at CAIS in 2018

Proud of her mother’s Shanghai and Hong Kong roots, Mrs. Kaz studied Chinese at Brown University and at the Beijing Institute of Education. She earned her master’s degree in education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early/Middle Childhood Literacy: Reading­-Language Arts. At Tsinghua International School 清华大学附中国际部, she taught English and music and started a golf team. At Sheridan, an independent school in Washington, DC, she taught second grade, fourth grade, and 8th grade geometry, and she helped develop curriculum, including a social studies unit on the Silk Road. At Georgetown Day School, another independent school in Washington, DC, she was a third grade lead teacher and the Chair of the national Asian Educators Alliance Conference. Mrs. Kaz is an experienced practitioner and mentor with Readers and Writers Workshop as well as with Responsive Classroom. In her practice as a teacher, she has shown deep commitment to engaging with issues of social class, gender, race, and social justice.

A Chinese and German speaker, she is also a:
• soprano with the International Orange Chorale and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus
• golfer
• triathlete
• skier
• SCUBA diver (PADI-certified rescue diver)
• certified emergency first responder

Began at CAIS in 2019

Ms. Kras, known as Ms. K. to the little learners, is excited to begin her fifth year teaching kindergarten with this group of young minds. She holds a BSc in Mathematics Education for Elementary Grades and a Masters in Elementary Education, and has a passion for instilling a deep curiosity and love of learning in young children. She believes children learn in many different ways, and works to create an inclusive learning environment where children can approach learning from a multitude of entry points in a joyful way. She looks forward to singing, dancing, exploring, and creating with your children this year!

Began at CAIS in 2000

Kevin has been with CAIS for 22 years. He has also served at CAIS as the 5th Grade English Teacher and 2nd Grade English Teacher. Kevin writes, “I am always very excited to be working with this amazing community of educators and especially excited to be working with a talented team. I am looking forward to a new school year of challenges and creating exciting offerings for our students.”

Kevin’s office is on the Oak Street Campus. He can be reached at 415-865-6010 and k_lee@cais.org.

Began at CAIS 2021

Lee Laoshi is a dancer, performer, and educator who for the last few years has called San Francisco home. Prior to moving to San Francisco, she completed her B.S. in Physical Education at the University of Taipei. After graduating, she danced professionally for over 10 years as well as running the dance company TS Fire group. As a dance director, Ms. Lee was responsible for coordinating and planning dance events directly with clients.  It is during this time that her passion for social media and video/photo editing tools began to flourish. Whether home or abroad, Ms. Lee’s message to her students has always remained the same: Take what she teaches and make it their own.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2019

Li Laoshi was born and raised in Beijing China and worked with children from K-5 for over 10 years in international schools before joining the CAIS community. She LOVES children and especially enjoy watching their abilities to grow and develop. She also loves singing, dancing, exploring new places and food.

BEGAN AT CAIS 2022

We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Li to our Middle School faculty. She brings deep knowledge in math instruction and holds a Master of Education in Learning Design, Innovation and Technology from Harvard Graduate School of Education as well as a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Connecticut. In addition to teaching at Silver Lane Elementary School and Bowers Elementary School in Connecticut, she comes to us most recently from research positions at NeuroMaker STEM in Somerville, MA, and MIND Research Institute in Irving, CA. She is a Mandarin speaker and in her graduate studies, she worked to build relationships with international students across academic disciplines and cultures.