Chinese American International School in San Francisco, CA seeks a

Kindergarten Chinese Lead Teacher

This is a Chinese language position Exempt, full-time position

OPPORTUNITY

Join the vibrant community at the Chinese American International School campus on 19th Avenue as a Kindergarten Chinese Lead Teacher. Become part of a team striving to be the world’s most innovative, inspiring, and influential Chinese English dual-language immersion school.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate finds resonance with CAIS’s mission to Embrace Chinese, Become Our Best Selves, and Contribute to a Better World; our Core Values of Courage, Curiosity, Inclusion, Kindness, and Perseverance. As CAIS aims to empower independent, effective, and inspired learners, we look for a candidate adept at student-centered pedagogy such as differentiation, use of assessment to inform teaching, and Workshop-based instruction.The ideal teacher can foster a joyful learning community that maintains a developmentally appropriate balance between deepening students’ academic skills and nurturing their curiosity and creativity. The new team member will co-lead two classes with an English partner teacher and collaborate with two additional Chinese and English teachers to design and implement the curriculum. The teacher will benefit from rich professional development opportunities in early childhood practice and Chinese immersion/language development (e.g., OPI). Within the framework of a strong curricular vision supported by the Chinese Program Director, the teacher will have considerable autonomy in developing and adapting the classroom curriculum.

CAIS offers a dynamic dual culture setting in which faculty are immersed in a culture of language learners. We look for a candidate who will embrace CAIS’s work to create an equitable, inclusive environment where all faculty, students, and families are supported in their individual identities. We welcome all applicants who aim to actively support and participate in our diverse and inclusive community.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Position responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Demonstrate teaching excellence, a growth mindset, professionalism, flexibility, and integrity in daily practice
• Hold strong knowledge of child development and pedagogical content appropriate for early childhood and kindergarten learners
• Lead curriculum planning, assessment, report writing, and parent-teacher conferences, while contributing to and sustaining key program initiatives.
• Support young children’s learning through whole-group instruction, small-group activities, and differentiated instruction
• Use child observation, documentation, and assessment to inform instruction and plan meaningful learning experiences
• Develop and sustain habits of reflective and intentional practice in daily teaching
• Maintain a healthy, safe, engaging, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment
• Interact with children using positive, supportive, and respectful language, tone, and attitude
• Apply a positive discipline approach to guide student behavior and support children’s social-emotional development
• Partner with families to support each child’s learning and overall development
• Foster a positive intellectual, emotional, and social classroom environment where all children feel valued and experience a strong sense of belonging
• Collaborate closely with grade level and cross grade level teaching teams, including lead teachers, teaching associates, support teachers, and specialist teachers
• Facilitate classroom team meetings and support the professional growth of associate and support teachers
• Foster a collaborative community through constructive communication, while maintaining professionalism and respect for students, staff, and families.
• Active participation in Teacher Collaboration Time (TCT) to align curriculum and plan instruction, while maintaining professionalism and respect for students, staff, and families.
• Make sound, timely, and appropriate decisions and take responsibility for those decisions

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Education
• Mandarin Chinese language proficiency
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work with colleagues from different backgrounds
• Commitment to school mission, policies, and initiatives
• Technical/Computer skills as required for job performance
• Initial and continued tuberculosis clearance
• Initial and continued criminal background clearance by DOJ and FBI
• CPR and First Aid Certification

VALUED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

We value, but do not require, the following attributes:

• Master's degree preferred
• 12 ECE units or Child Development Teacher Permit
• Three units of administration ECE preferred
• Personal experience with Chinese immersion education / second language acquisition

BENEFITS & COMPENSATION

The CAIS Board of Trustees and administration are expressly dedicated to ensuring that CAIS is a great place to work. The school is committed to attracting, developing, retaining, and rewarding top-tier employees with a strong benefits package. The salary range for this position is: $84,700 - $119,200, based on experience. Please see the final page for a description of benefits.

ABOUT CAIS

As the nation’s first Mandarin immersion day school, Chinese American International School (CAIS) is an independent Preschool through 8th grade school in San Francisco. Our mission—Embrace Chinese, Become Our Best Selves, and Contribute to a Better World—guides every aspect of our work. CAIS prepares students to navigate and contribute to an interconnected world through language, culture, and character development.

Our new campus and state-of-the-art performing arts facilities provide an exceptional foundation for creative teaching, learning, and community engagement.

TO APPLY

CAIS’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is central to our mission. People of color and LGBTQIA candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Click here to apply. Please no calls.

CAIS as a Workplace

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Position responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Demonstrate teaching excellence, a growth mindset, professionalism, flexibility, and integrity in daily practice
• Hold strong knowledge of child development and pedagogical content appropriate for early childhood and kindergarten learners
• Lead curriculum planning, assessment, report writing, and parent-teacher conferences, while contributing to and sustaining key program initiatives.
• Support young children’s learning through whole-group instruction, small-group activities, and differentiated instruction
• Use child observation, documentation, and assessment to inform instruction and plan meaningful learning experiences
• Develop and sustain habits of reflective and intentional practice in daily teaching
• Maintain a healthy, safe, engaging, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment
• Interact with children using positive, supportive, and respectful language, tone, and attitude
• Apply a positive discipline approach to guide student behavior and support children’s social-emotional development
• Partner with families to support each child’s learning and overall development
• Foster a positive intellectual, emotional, and social classroom environment where all children feel valued and experience a strong sense of belonging
• Collaborate closely with grade level and cross grade level teaching teams, including lead teachers, teaching associates, support teachers, and specialist teachers
• Facilitate classroom team meetings and support the professional growth of associate and support teachers
• Foster a collaborative community through constructive communication, while maintaining professionalism and respect for students, staff, and families.
• Active participation in Teacher Collaboration Time (TCT) to align curriculum and plan instruction, while maintaining professionalism and respect for students, staff, and families.
• Make sound, timely, and appropriate decisions and take responsibility for those decisions

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Education
• Mandarin Chinese language proficiency
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work with colleagues from different backgrounds
• Commitment to school mission, policies, and initiatives
• Technical/Computer skills as required for job performance
• Initial and continued tuberculosis clearance
• Initial and continued criminal background clearance by DOJ and FBI
• CPR and First Aid Certification

VALUED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

We value, but do not require, the following attributes:

• Master's degree preferred
• 12 ECE units or Child Development Teacher Permit
• Three units of administration ECE preferred
• Personal experience with Chinese immersion education / second language acquisition

About Chinese American International School

ABOUT CAIS As the nation’s first Mandarin Immersion Preschool through 8th grade school, CAIS embodies our mission by working continuously to maintain our role as a leader in immersion education. We value honest self-assessment, thoughtful self-reflection, intentional planning, and focused implementation. We are known as an ambitious school, and we are making substantial progress on our multi-year vision to reimagine immersion, reimagine our culture of learning, reimagine character and community, and reimagine our learning spaces. Since 2021, we have been using our new campus on 19th Avenue in San Francisco for athletics, arts, and community events. In September 2024, our entire community began the school year at our newly renovated Forever Home, which more than doubles the program space from our former Hayes Valley locations and allows all divisions to be together on one spectacular campus.

Connections working at Chinese American International School