Ask most adults about their school years and you will probably hear about one of their favorite teachers. We know that having motivated and skilled teachers who serve as role models for students is equally important as a comprehensive curriculum.

Our faculty members are credentialed teachers representing diverse cultures and experiences. As of September 2009, there were 40 full-time and 2 part-time faculty members including 17 U.S. citizens, 15 Mexicans, 9 Canadians and 1 of other nationality – 35% of whom hold a Masters Degree or higher.

We encourage our faculty members to expand their own education and qualifications by providing them with opportunities to attend workshops as well as offering an on-site Masters Degree program from an accredited United States university.

 

Philip Marks, was born and raised in Elgin, Illinois, once the great watch making town of the the United States. He graduated from San Jose State University with a BA in English and soon afterward served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, monitoring tuberculosis patients in a Monrovian clinic. He earned his teaching credential from Fresno State University and began teaching in 1982. In his career, he has taught first through eighth grade in both public and private schools, and has lived and taught in Mexico on and off for 9 years. He currently teaches third and fourth grade English at Colegio Americano of Puerto Vallarta.

Lisa Schalla-Salgado has a teaching degree in Social Studies and German from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, and a Masters in Secondary Education from the University of Alabama. She has been on staff for 10 years, after having taught in Germany, Spain, and Mexico City. Lisa gives classes in World Geography, U.S. History and AP U.S. History to grades 7 through eleven and organizes the 10th grade CLOSE UP trip to Washington D.C. each year. She is the National Honor Society advisor and head of our LEER y CRECER project with public schools. Within the Vallarta community, Lisa is active in reading advocacy, and promoting choral events and support for women with breast cancer.