OUR STAFF
TIS Yamaki
Kindergarten 3 · Elementary
Jennifer Donehoo
Kosodate Shien-in. Jen is an American from Pennsylvania. She is the superintendent of Trinity International School. She teaches Mommy and Me at Kamiotai and Kamimaezu, and Panda class at Yamaki. Jen taught preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school in America. She is certified to teach elementary, middle school, and Japanese. Jen enjoys cooking and music in her spare time.
Lennix
Kosodate Shien-in. Mr Lennix teaches Panda class. He was born in Canada and raised in Colorado, America and has family born in the Philippines. Before working in Japan, Lennix has taken care of school age children in the U.S. Army Base in Colorado. He enjoys playing the Kalimba and playing videogames in his free time.
TIS Kamiotai
Toddler · Preschool · Kindergarten 1, 2
Ann Abinales
Kosodate Shien-in. Ann is from the Philippines. She teaches the Ant, Spider, Toddler and after school classes at Kamiotai. She has worked at TIS since 2012. Before that, she taught toddler and preschool aged children of US military families in Okinawa for 3 years. She loves to teach, play, and make crafts with the children. She enjoys cooking, travelling, and photography.
Justin
Kosodate Shien-in. Justin comes from Cambodia and has been living in Japan since 2018. He teaches Ant, Spider, and Mouse at Kamimaezu. He worked as a teacher and consultant for international trainees. He has experience teaching English, Japanese, and Chinese. He believes that by making the class interesting, students will pay attention and learn better. He enjoys reading, traveling, and music.
Jason Arthur
Kosodate Shien-in. Jason is an Indonesian and he grew up with multi-cultural background. He teaches the Lion class at Kamiotai. He went to an international school in his country before moving to China and the UK. Jason thinks that children could learn at their best if they find the class fun. Jason enjoys art, photography, and Japanese culture.
Yuka Ito
Hoikushi. Spending every day with my children, I am amazed at their steady and powerful growth. The way they move forward carefully despite their anxiety, or the way they move forward with curiosity and determination...it's all wonderful.
At all times, I want to be there for the children, looking them in the eye and supporting them as they leave their homes for the first time and take their first steps into social life. She has a childcare certification.
TIS Kamimaezu
Toddler · Preschool · Kindergarten · Elementary
Sarah McMillin
Kosodate Shien-in
Ms. Sarah is the principal of Kamimaezu and also teaches the elementary class.
She is a Cuban-American born and raised in New York City. She knows first hand how difficult it can be learning a language having done a year of foreign exchange at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka. She has been teaching English in Japan to children of various ages since 2011 and loves to make them laugh. In her spare time she enjoys baking, kendo and playing card games.
Syeda Fozia
Hoikushi. Ms. Fozia teaches Japanese to the preschool students. She loves spending time laughing and playing with children. She looks forward to seeing them every day. Her goal is to create a fun-filled daily life for each child, while cherishing their individual feelings and personalities.
Her hobbies are listening to music and exercising. She wants to play with the students and spend enjoyable time filled with smiles.
Sreeja Reddy
Kosodate Shien-in
Ms. Sreeja teaches elementary school students at Kamimaezu.
She is from India and holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics. She has always had a passion for working with young children and believes that every child is unique and has the potential to shine in their own way. Her goal is to create a warm, nurturing, and inclusive environment where each child feels valued, supported, and encouraged to explore, discover, and grow. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and drawing.
Ms. Sreeja's art classes are always creative, and we're very proud of them at our school！
Nandhini Kandan
She teaches the elementary class at Kamimaezu.
She’s from India. She graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering. She worked for an IT firm for 13 years, where she gained professional experience, discipline, communication skills, and teamwork.
She aims to explain concepts clearly and help children learn with confidence.
She focuses on creating a safe, kind, and encouraging environment. She believes every student can succeed, and she is here to cheer them on every step of the way.
Kumiko Takada
Hoikushi. Ms. Kumiko teaches Japanese classes for elementary school students at Kamimaezu school.
Her specialty is educational psychology. She has experience that includes working at a children's welfare facility as a counselor, as an elementary school counselor, a lecturer, and as an instructor in an adaptive guidance classroom.
She believes that learning enriches and supports our lives. She is constantly trying to find new ways to encourage children to learn on their own and to take on challenges.
Miyuri Sakoda
Ms. Miyuri teaches the basic level Japanese class for elementary students.
As a child she attended an international school in the Philippines for two and a half years, experiencing both the difficulties and joys of learning a language. This experience led her to want to provide supportive instruction to children learning Japanese. She strives to create fun and safe lessons that cherish each student's sense of accomplishment.
Her hobbies are cooking and crafting.
Neha Saravanan
Ms. Neha teaches various levels of English.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design and Decoration and began her professional journey as a Senior Interior Designer, where she worked for a year. Her growing interest in working with children and education then inspired her to pursue a career in teaching. She went on to work at a school in India for two years, where she discovered the joy of creating a creative, caring, and supportive learning environment for young learners.
Takeshi Amano
Mr. Amano is Kamimaezu School’s bus driver.
After obtaining his Class 2 large vehicle driver's license on November 26, 1996, Mr. Amano worked as a route bus driver for a major bus company, driving not only regular route buses but also university school buses, corporate shuttle buses, and shuttle buses to boat race tracks.
Later, he gained experience as a taxi driver, and now he utilizes his extensive knowledge of various regions to transport students and assist with school trips.
Yasuo Fukada
Japanese Science class teacher
In his classes the children observe the year-round breeding/life cycle of organisms, observe the growth of plants, and perform many science experiments as they learn about their world using science equipment in a safe way.
Yasuo has many years of experience teaching children.
