Middle School Director
We invite you to watch our interview with Jeff Bissell, Head of School at CAIS, in which he discusses its unique mission and outstanding history as a leader in Mandarin immersion education, the recent move to a unified campus, and the upcoming priorities for the next Middle School Director.
We also invite you to watch our interview with Wei Qian, Lower School Director at CAIS, in which she shares her background as an educational leader and what drew her to CAIS, the partnership between the Lower School and Middle School, and her excitement about working with the next Middle School Director.
Please download the opportunity statement, which contains information about Chinese American International School and the position, as well as required application materials to prepare in advance. All applications must be submitted online. Please review the How to Apply section below for further application instructions.
SUMMARY
Founded in 1981 as the first Mandarin immersion school in the United States, the Chinese American International School (CAIS) educates 571 students age two through 8th grade. Over the last four decades, CAIS has been recognized globally as a leader in bilingual education and an innovator for its commitment to immersive, cultural education through the study of language. CAIS is “a safe place to tinker and try,” with deep support for educators who lead with curiosity and vision and a culture that values creativity, risk-taking, and collaboration. Within the middle school, students in grades 6–8 study an intellectually challenging, competency-based curriculum that includes math, science, design technology, English language arts, social studies, Chinese language arts and social studies, music, studio art, and physical education.
With the upcoming retirement of the current middle school director, who has been at CAIS since 2014, the school now looks forward to welcoming its next middle school director to lead an outstanding academic program and foster community connection across the school’s new, unified campus.
The director will oversee the ongoing implementation of competency-based learning in the middle school program, and promote Mandarin immersion excellence that distinguishes CAIS among its peers in an increasingly competitive market. This is an exciting opportunity for a mission-driven academic leader to join a visionary community and help define what it means to be a CAIS graduate in a global, multilingual world. The next middle school director will also join CAIS two years after the school relocated to a single, spectacular, unified campus, following a period of operations on three separate campuses. Reporting to the head of school, the middle school director will directly supervise middle school faculty and learning specialists, and the athletic director. CAIS looks forward to welcoming the incoming director to begin July 1, 2026.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Priority Deadline: December 28, 2025
Virtual Semifinal Round: Week of January 19
On-site Final Round: Week of February 2
Decision Announced: February 16, 2026
Start Date: July 1, 2026
Reports To: Head of School
Classification: Full-time, Exempt
Annual Salary Range: $178,500 – $218,400
We invite you to watch our interview with Jeff Bissell, Head of School at CAIS, in which he discusses its unique mission and outstanding history as a leader in Mandarin immersion education, the recent move to a unified campus, and the upcoming priorities for the next Middle School Director.
We also invite you to watch our interview with Wei Qian, Lower School Director at CAIS, in which she shares her background as an educational leader and what drew her to CAIS, the partnership between the Lower School and Middle School, and her excitement about working with the next Middle School Director.
How to Apply
- If you have not done so already, download the opportunity statement above.
- Prepare your application materials, which are described on the last page of the opportunity statement.
- If you have never logged into our application portal before, you will need to create an account first.
- Come back to this page and select Login to Apply--or you can apply directly from your dashboard after logging in.
- Complete and upload your application. If you prefer, you can save it as a draft and log back in later to finalize it.
- Applications submitted by December 28 will receive priority review.