John received his M.A. in Foreign Languages and Philosophy from Cambridge University, England. After teaching a variety of subjects to students of all ages in England and the Bay Area, he founded W.I.S. in 1976, originally as Wildshaw School.

Click Here for John's Biography

Ariel graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor's Degree in Feminist Studies. She is also an alumni of Woodside International school with the class of 1997. She currently coordinates the school's outreach efforts, teaches Health class and crafts, and organizes the Student Activities Committee.

Ruben Flores Chavez – Spanish

Ruben is a native speaker from Mexico with a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from the Universidad de Guadalajara.  He is currently completing his thesis to get his Master’s degree in Technology and Education.  He has taught Spanish and literature for over 8 years, mainly at the Vancouver International Center and College in Guadalajara, Mexico.  Ruben just moved to San Francisco with his wife and baby daughter.  This is his first year at Woodside.

Angie Crabtree – 9^th & 10^th Grade Art, Art ELL, Mural

Angie is a visual artist that has been teaching in the Bay Area for 10 years.  She earned a BFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and has studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie of the Netherlands and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently, she also teaches with Root Division, the San Francisco Arts Education Project (SF Arts Ed) and LEAP.  She enjoys teaching photorealistic technique, encouraging experimentation, and incorporating contemporary ideas into class projects. 

Inbal holds a B.A. in Sociology from U.C. Berkeley, as well as a Master's in Business Administration, from S.F.S.U.  Inbal, a former teacher of Woodside International School, works one-on-one with students and helps them with Study Skills, Organizational Skills, Test Taking Strategies, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Researching and Applying for College/Jobs, as well as other areas needed to help students succeed academically, personally, and socially.

James Knoebber - World Civilizations, World History, US History, Civics, Economics &
California History

James graduated with a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from Loyola Marymount University. After working with fiber optics in the telecommunications industry, he completed a Masters of Arts in both American and World History at San Francisco State University. James began teaching in the Oakland Unified School district teaching Math and Science, before moving into working with low-income, high-need, and newcomer youth and their families in San Francisco. He remains active in the community serving as a San Francisco Board of Supervisors appointed Commissioner on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and working with various community-based organizations to help build stronger, safer, and healthier communities.

Garrett Kobsef – Music Ensemble

Garrett has been working in Hollywood for the last ten years and earned his music degree from the University of Southern California in Jazz Studies. He has performed and recorded with a diverse range of musical artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Patti Austin, Bill Holman, John Clayton, and The Abyssinians. His experience in Hollywood working with and being mentored by top-level studio musicians continues to bring an intimate understanding of the music to him and his students.

Perrine Laurent – French Teacher, Administration Coordinator

Born and raised in France, Perrine came to the U.S. shortly after obtaining her B.A in Education Management and Administration. Her own language learning experience prompted her to develop a profound interest for the field of foreign language training.  After completing a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in the UK, Perrine taught in various schools around Oxford, UK. She eventually came back to the US and is now very excited to be a part of the Woodside community in her two new functions as French teacher and Administration Coordinator.

Lina received her B.S. in Zoology with a concentration in Neurobiology from Michigan State University, during which she assisted in medical research.  She later conducted environmental education programs at Grand Canyon National park, which inspired her to pursue a career in teaching.  Lina moved to San Francisco after earning her teaching credential from the University of Texas, Austin.  She has been teaching at Woodside since 1999.

Corinne Masri – 11^th & 12^th Grade Art, Photography, Art History, Yearbook

Corinne received her M.A. in Art from San Francisco State University.  Her work has been shown in several museums, publications, and galleries such as the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and the San Francisco Art Institute Centennial Exhibition.  She has worked for The John Berggruen Gallery, taught at San Francisco State University, and Tamalpais Adult Education in Marin County.  Corrine maintains an active membership in the National Art Education Association and the California Alliance for the Arts Education.  She has been an integral member of the Woodside family since 1983.

David Matson – Adventures P.E., Information Technology, Math & Science Tutor, Website Designer, Woodshop, Yearbook, Chief Dog Walker

Dave earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from San Jose State University and has his M.S from San Jose State in the same field.  Dave is responsible for maintaining the school's computer network, keeping the website up to date and coordinating the school's yearbook. Along with teaching Woodshop class, Dave tutors Woodside students in Math and Science and serves as an assistant to the Adventures P.E. program.

Kawori Minamisawa – Japanese Language and Culture, Adventures PE Assistant

Kawori received her master’s degree in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language from San Francisco State University.  Originally from Nagano, Japan, Kawori has taught Japanese in three countries.  She is concurrently teaching beginner and conversational Japanese at a local college and for Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.  Her other interests include reading mystery novels, cooking, and sports.

Erik Noonan – English Language Mechanics, English for International Students, Home Room, 11^th & 12^th Grade Philosophy, Creative Writing, Tutorials

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Erik received a B.A. from Hampshire College in 1996.  In addition to teaching at Woodside, he has tutored and advocated for high school and university students in the Bay Area.  Erik is also currently working towards a master’s degree in Poetics at the New College of California.  He has been with Woodside since 1997.

George Pan – Mandarin

George received his degrees in Chinese Language and Literature at Nanjing University in 1965 and Georgetown University in 1982.  He has taught Mandarin at Beijing Foreign Language University, and was appointed Deputy Director of the United Nations funded English Training Center in Beijing.  In addition, George has been the Deputy Chief of the Education Department of the National Tourism Administration of China, and President of the Chinese and Foreign Products Journal.  This is George’s first year at Woodside.

Marcus Perry – Drama

Marcus has been a performer in the Bay Area since 1992. He joined the S.F. based improvisational group “The Half Baked Players” in 1999. Since then, he's performed in several productions at Theater Rhino & Josie's Juice Joint.  He has also performed solo musical performances around the Bay Area, including a gig at the Public Library where he also taught a class on the history of Funk music. Marcus has studied voice with Sean Martinfield and received voice-over training at The Voice Factory. He also wrote, produced and starred in a one-man musical performance. Marcus is looking forward to sharing his experience and his love of performing with the students of Woodside.

Chris Pickens – Algebra I, Calculus, Physics, AP Physics, Astronomy

Before going into teaching, Chris was an astronomer at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, where he analyzed Hubble Space Telescope images of stars and galaxies. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1995. It was during his undergraduate years at UVA that he began his education training as a middle school math teacher while still going to school to become a scientist. He went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Astrophysics from The Johns Hopkins University in 1999.  After discovering a passion to teach, he left professional science research to devote all of his energy towards high school science instruction – acquiring ten years of teaching experience in private and public high schools in Baltimore, Newport News (in Virginia), Berkeley and San Francisco.

Gayle Reznikov - Health

Gayle has more than 15 years of program planning, teaching, and training in the field of health education. Gayle earned her BA in Womens Health from University of Maryland. After graduation, Gayle worked in health research developing tools for the National Institute of Health. Gayle went on to get her Masters in Public Health from New York University in Community Health Education. She then spent several years working in community settings developing and implementing curricula for organizations such as Planned Parenthood, United Nations, Kaiser Permanente and Jewish Family Services. She has worked abroad in Thailand, India and Israel empowering people to create healthy and productive lives.

Boris Rivkin – Facilities Manager

Boris graduated from the Leningrad Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.  He worked as an electronic engineer in Russia.  Here in the U.S., Boris worked as an electronic technician and software quality assurance engineer for several companies in both Florida and California.  He has been part of the Woodside family since 2003.

Tiffany Spohrer – Algebra II, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry

Tiffany graduated from Tulane University, where she received her B.S. in Physics and Creative Writing with a minor in Mathematics. While living in New Orleans, she spent time tutoring math and science, teaching swim lessons, playing water polo, and researching DNA's biological function in one of Tulane's Physical Chemistry labs. She is currently pursuing her MFA at The University of San Francisco.

José Vargas – 11^th & 12^th Grade English, 9^th & 10^th Grade Philosophy, Advanced Philosophy, Film Appreciation

José studied Latin American literature and philosophy at U.C. Berkeley, where he received his bachelor’s degree.  A native of Nicaragua, he has lived in the Bay Area for over twenty years.  José taught 6^th grade in a bilingual classroom at Garfield Charter School and humanities at the Uplift Program at St. Ignatius College Prep.  He has been at Woodside since 1999.

Chang Qiang Wang – Shaolin Kung Fu

Chang Qiang trained at the Shaolin Monastery in China.  He demonstrates, performs, and teaches kung fu throughout the Bay Area.  This is his second year teaching at Woodside.

Paul Welch – English for Language Learners, English II/III

Paul Welch earned his BA in English and Creative Writing from Hampshire College in 1999. He has worked as a teacher for 7 years, mostly at an international high school in Beijing, where he was the Head of the Language and Theory of Knowledge departments. He has also taught English as a Foreign Language to students of all ages and levels. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Poetry with a focus in Chinese translation at San Francisco State University.