Head of School Search

Search Committee

The Search Committee comprises a subset of the Board. It manages the detailed process — working with search consultants Carney, Sandoe & Associates to recruit, interview, and assess candidates — and then recommends a finalist to the full Board. The Search Committee trustees demonstrate utmost commitment to the School’s mission and to confidentiality, and include:

• Alda Leu Dennis
• Lucinda Lee Katz
• Peter Shiau 
• Chris Tom
• Jon Xu

The full Board of Trustees will be making the final hiring decision in summer 2026.

Search Consultants

CAIS has retained Carney, Sandoe & Associates (CS&A), an internationally recognized education search and recruitment, consulting, and coaching firm, to partner with us in the search for our next Head of School. CS&A brings deep knowledge of independent schools from over 45 years of experience guiding schools through their searches for exceptional heads of school, senior administrators, and faculty. Carney Sandoe is known for its highly personalized approach to understanding the particular strengths, needs, and cultures of schools and then supporting them through the identification, recruitment, and hiring of excellent leaders, whose skills and experiences align with the school’s needs. We are excited to work with Jennifer Wong Christensen, Malcolm McKenzie, and Karen Neitzel  as our consultants.

Dear Peter and CAIS Trustees,

One spring day in the mid 1980s, as a new teacher recently out of college, I called my friend Matt (also a teacher) to plan our months-long summer vacation. “Dude, let’s go to Alaska,” I said. After a lengthy pause, Matt replied, “Dude, let’s go to China.” Another lengthy pause. And then, “Dude, okay,” I said. 

I love origin stories, and that’s mine.  That impulsive moment changed the trajectory of my life and set me on a decades-long journey to learn, understand, and teach about Chinese language and culture.  I couldn’t have imagined that it would eventually lead me to CAIS—a place where I’ve been able to live out that commitment for more than 15 years. Today, I’m writing to let you know that the 2026–27 school year will be my final year as Head of School at CAIS.

It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve this country’s first Mandarin-English dual-language immersion day school. I moved from Beijing to San Francisco in 2010, and I’ve often said there’s no other school in the U.S. for which I would have left China. I have also often said that I came here for the program, but I have remained for so many years because of the people, the community. Many of our families chose CAIS in part because of a connection to their Chinese heritage.  In this respect I am an outsider, yet CAIS families have accepted and included me, and my life has been enriched by participation in this community.  Our students are a reflection of their families, and it is a real gift to come to work every day and absorb their energy and their goodness.  The aspect of our community of which I am most proud is the team we have assembled at CAIS.  My colleagues are the nicest, most dedicated, talented, and skilled people with whom one could ever hope to work; they channel the kindness vibe every day.  I feel lucky, and our students are lucky.

I assure you, the trustees, and the CAIS community that I remain all in for the next 19 months. Our school has a distinctive mission, solid finances, a best-in-class campus, strong enrollment, a supportive community, and outstanding faculty and staff.  The current strategic planning process will leverage these enviable strengths to set up our community and the next Head of School for long term success.

And now, back to work!

With much gratitude,

敬爱的 Peter 和各位 CAIS 理事：

在八十年代中期春天的一个下午，作为一个最近从大学毕业、当了没多久老师的年轻人，我打电话给我的朋友 Matt（他也是老师），想商量我们那年漫长的暑假旅行。我先说：“哥们儿，我们去阿拉斯加吧。” 他沉默了很久，然后说：“哥们儿，我们还是去中国吧。” 我也愣了几秒，然后回他说：“行啊，哥们儿。”

我特别喜欢这种 “起源故事”，而这就是我的。那个很冲动的决定，改变了我的人生方向，也让我开始了几十年不断学习、了解和分享中华语言和文化的旅程。我完全没想到，这条路最终会把我带到 CAIS ——一个让我坚持这一使命超过十五年的地方。今天写信，是想告诉大家：2026–27 学年会是我在 CAIS 担任校长的最后一年。

能够服务美国第一所中英文双语沉浸式学校，是我职业生涯中最大的荣幸。2010 年，我从北京来到旧金山，我常说，如果不是 CAIS，我不会离开中国。我最初是为了项目而来，但之所以留下这么多年，是因为人，是因为社群。很多家庭选择 CAIS，是因为和中华语言文化有身份上的连接。而我严格来说是“外来人”，但是 CAIS 的家庭接纳了我、把我包容进来，我真的从中受益良多。我们的学生是家长的映照——她/他们的精神和善良，每天都让我觉得来上班是一种礼物。而我最自豪的，是 CAIS 这支团队——我的同事们是最友善、最有奉献精神、也最有才华、最专业的一群人。她/他们每天都在传递 “善良” 的力量。我很幸运，我们的学生也很幸运。

我也想向大家保证：我接下来的 19 个月还是会全心投入。我们的学校办学宗旨独特、财务稳健、校园一流、招生强劲、社群支持、教职员工优秀。现在正在进行的战略规划，也会帮助学校和下一位校长继续把 CAIS 推向更远的未来。

好了，现在回到工作上吧。

满怀感恩，

Dear CAIS Community:

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to begin by expressing our deep gratitude to Head of School Jeff Bissell for his outstanding leadership and dedication to CAIS. By the end of June 2027, Jeff will have served our School for 17 years, a remarkable tenure marked by vision, integrity, and unwavering commitment to our children, families, teachers, staff, and, most of all, to the mission of our School. Jeff’s decision to step away from the intense role and make way for new leadership to move CAIS forward from a position of strength and opportunity exemplifies the kind of leader that Jeff is.

This is a difficult letter to write. I remember meeting Jeff for the first time when my older daughter, Kate, moved from the Waller campus to the Oak Street campus. The kindergarteners were lined up on Hickory Street, and I saw this Midwestern man walking with his coffee, greeting the children in his Beijing-accented Mandarin. Jeff embodies a rare blend of Eastern and Western values and temperament. I did not know Jeff well at first, but over the years I came to appreciate how deeply qualified and uniquely suited he is to be CAIS’s Head of School.

Under Jeff’s leadership, CAIS has experienced extraordinary growth and transformation. He led two successful capital campaigns for the Turk Street campus and the acquisition of our 19th Avenue campus, one of the most significant milestones in our School’s history. He expanded our Mandarin immersion and global programs to deepen students’ language experience, strengthened CAIS’s reputation as a model for immersion education, and supported the founding of the Early Childhood Chinese Immersion Forum. His thoughtful leadership has created an incredible legacy for our students, families, teachers, faculty, and the wider educational community.

Though we are naturally sad to see this chapter nearing its close, leadership transitions are moments of both reflection and renewal. Change creates opportunities for new perspectives, forward thinking, and continued excellence. As the Board begins the search for the next Head of School, Jeff remains fully committed to CAIS and to finalizing and implementing the School’s strategic plan over the remaining 19 months of his tenure.

To assist in the search, the Board of Trustees has retained Carney, Sandoe & Associates, a nationally respected search firm with deep experience in international, bilingual, and immersion schools. Together, we will conduct a thorough and global search for CAIS’s next Head of School, with the goal of welcoming the new Head on July 1, 2027.

The Board is committed to a process that reflects our School’s values of collaboration, transparency, and community engagement. The Carney Sandoe team will visit the 19th Avenue campus in mid-December to meet with families, teachers, administrators, students, and trustees to learn more about CAIS: our community, our culture, and our aspirations for the future. We will share additional details soon about opportunities for you to participate as the search begins.

Please join me in thanking Jeff for his outstanding service and in celebrating all that he has accomplished for CAIS. His leadership has positioned our School for a bright and exciting future.

With gratitude and optimism,

Peter Shiau
Chair, Board of Trustees
Chinese American International School

亲爱的中美国际社区成员：

我谨代表董事会，首先向毕杰夫校长表达我们最深切的感谢，感谢他对中美国际的卓越领导和无私贡献。到 2027 年 6 月底，毕杰夫校长带领中美国际将期满 17 年——这是一段对中美国际社区里程碑式的领导任期， 一段以远见、正直以及对学生、家庭、教师、员工，尤其是对学校使命的坚定承诺所标志的非凡任期。杰夫决定卸下这份他全身心投入的责任和角色，并为新领导层创造条件，使中美国际能够在实力与机遇并存的基础上继续前行，这一举动本身就体现了 杰夫 所具备的非凡领导者风范。

写下这封信对我而言并不容易。我仍记得第一次见到 杰夫 的情景，那时我的大女儿 Kate 正从 Waller 校区转到 Oak Street 校区。那天，幼儿园的小朋友们正排队站在 Hickory Street 上，我看到一位手捧咖啡、带着美式中西部气质的男士，边走边用带着北京地道口音的中文向孩子们问好。杰夫 身上融合了东西方价值观与气质的独特人格魅力。最初我对他了解并不多，但随着时间共处，我愈发体会到他是多么特别，真诚和优秀，是一位不可多得且独一无二的中美国际学校的校长。

在杰夫校长的领导下，中美取得了飞跃的发展与成功转型。他成功领导了两次募资活动，分别用于 Turk Street 校区的建设和 19街校区的购置——这些是学校历史上最重要的里程碑。他扩展了我们的中文沉浸式教学和全球项目，优化了学生的语言学习体验，加强了中美国际 作为沉浸式教育典范的声誉，并支持创立了“沉浸式中文幼儿教育研讨会”。在他的非凡远见和卓越的领导力下，为我们的学生、家庭、教师、员工以及更广泛的教育界留下了意义深远的影响。

虽然对于这一即将接近尾声的篇章我们感到伤感，但领导层的变动既是回顾的时刻，也包含着新的契机。变化带来新的视角、前瞻性的思考，以及持续追求卓越的可能。随着董事会启动校长遴选工作，杰夫将在任期剩余的 19 个月内继续全心投入，致力于完成并推动学校战略规划的落实。

为协助遴选工作，董事会已聘请 Carney, Sandoe & Associates——一家在国际、双语及沉浸式学校领域拥有深厚经验的全国知名猎聘机构。我们将与其合作，开展全面而全球化的遴选工作，目标是在 2027 年 7 月 1 日欢迎新任校长加入中美国际。

作、有效沟通与社区参与的价值观。Carney Sandoe 团队将于 12 月中旬访问19街校区，与家庭、教师、行政团队、学生及董事会成员会面，以深入了解 中美国际的社区、文化及我们对未来的期望。我们也将于近期分享更多信息，介绍您可参与遴选过程的机会。

请各位加入我一起感谢杰夫校长这么多年来对中美国际的奉献，并庆祝他为中美国际所取得的所有光辉成就。他的领导为学校的美好未来奠定了坚实基础。

怀着感恩与乐观之心，

敬上，

Peter Shiau 萧孝恒
董事会主席
中美国际学校 (Chinese American International School)