Aoba-Japan International School (A-JIS) is happy to announce that a large group of new faces is joining the staff for the 2012–13 school year. Among those joining the Hikarigaoka Campus are seven excited and enthusiastic new teachers, as well as an elementary principal and a business manager.
The school is very proud to be bringing in the best staff available from around the world. All of the incoming staff received their qualifications from the United States, Canada, or Australia.
Homeroom teacher Courtney Collins was born and raised on the Connecticut shoreline. While studying at Fordham University in Bronx, New York, Courtney started tutoring students at a nearby high school and was inspired to pursue a degree in education. She graduated with a BA in sociology and a New York State and City Certificate of Teaching in Elementary Education. Courtney taught for five years in the New York City public and parochial school system while attaining an MA in literacy and reading at Fordham. Courtney also taught courses in the English Language Institute at Choate Rosemary Hall Summer School. She taught for one year in Miami before moving to Venezuela, where she has been teaching for the past three years at The British School of Caracas.
Another homeroom teacher, Gordon Vanstone, grew up in Victoria, BC, Canada. After high school he received his BEd at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver. Gordon then completed his Professional Development Program at SFU and became certified as an elementary school teacher with the BC College of Teachers. He has taught at international schools in Tokyo and most recently at Overseas Family School in Singapore. Gordon is looking forward to returning to Tokyo and contributing to the educational environment at Aoba-Japan International School as a grade 5 teacher.
Homeroom teacher Heidi Yoko Yamada was born and raised in California. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Japanese and communications, she spent three years in Okayama on the JET program as an assistant English teacher. Her stay in Japan solidified her love for teaching and she returned to the United States to study at UC Santa Barbara where she earned her Elementary Teaching Credential and MA in education. For the past 13 years Heidi has taught elementary school in the United States.
The school is especially honoured to have hired an alumnus to teach in the kindergarten. Many of the students at A-JIS may be following the footsteps of Harukako (Haru) Ikeura who grew up and attended international schools in Tokyo. She received a BA in economics from Boston University but quickly realized her passion for teaching and obtained a Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate. Recently, Haru received an MA in teaching from the University of Southern California and also taught grades 1 and 5 at an elementary school in Honolulu, Hawaii. Haru has taught students from various backgrounds and age groups. — ROYCE JACOBS
