Colorado International School
4100 E. Iliff Avenue
Denver, CO 80222


Phone: 303-282-6666
Fax: 303-759-5035

School Hours: 8a-5p M-F
Office Hours: 9a-12p M-F

Calendars and Events

Chinese Program Staff

Jie Ding – Mandarin 3rd-8th Grades

Jun Zhang- Mandarin K-2nd Grades

Ms. Lu He- Mandarin Pre-K

The Mandarin program is also blessed with many invaluable volunteers. Thank you for your hard work!

The Mandarin Program staff can be reached at mandarin@coloradointernationalschool.org

Staff Spotlight

Jie Ding

Mandarin Program Lead Teacher

Hello, ni hao!  My name is Jie Ding.  I came from Beijing, China, where I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Beijing Normal University.   I was a teacher for 10 years in China.  I then lectured in the area of physiology at the Health Institute of Beijing Railway Bureau in China.  Since then, I have become deeply involved with my career.

When I moved to Colorado in 1995, I entered the teaching field again.  I have over 7 years of teaching Mandarin Chinese experience in Colorado elementary schools.  Currently, I am a Chinese teacher at Colorado International School.  I have taught kindergarten to 8th grade Mandarin Chinese, math and science. Throughout my experiences, I have placed an emphasis on stimulating students’ interests in learning Mandarin Chinese through games, song, and drama.  I especially enjoy making educational activities fun and creative.  My passion is helping students grow and improve in life.  I apply everything I learn about education to my daily work.  My goal is to attract the students into the subjects that they are learning about and let them enjoy my lessons, because I believe fostering a genuine interest will ultimately ensure their success.  I think responsibility, self-motivation, and problem-solving skills are important when working with students, along with an optimistic approach.

 Jun Zhang

Mandarin Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade Teacher

My name is Jun Zhang.  I am Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade mandarin program teacher.  I just came from Sichuan, China—home of the pandas.  I was born in Hubei province of China.  I have lived in Sichuan over ten years where I obtained a Bachelor of Art degree in Drama, Movie and TV Literature and a Graduate degree in Chinese Philology fromSouthwestUniversity inChina.   I have five years of teaching experience at the elementary school inSichuan.  I have a teacher certificate inChina.  I really enjoy teaching and working with kids.  Seeing kids to grow is enjoyable.  I likeColorado.  I like to work at CoIS.

My goal is to work hard to make an immersion astrosphere to sure that my students are maintaining a level at or above grade level on the skill of listening, speaking, reading and writing, Math and Science at all times. I do this by placing a strong emphasis on phonetics, question asking practicing and fundamentals of Chinese.

I am always available to meet you if you have any questions or concerns.

Lu He

Mandarin Pre-K Teacher

My name is Lu He. I was born in China and earned my Bachelor’s Degree of Economy from the University of Guang Xi in China. I immigrated to U.S.A. in 1996 and have been living in Colorado since then. I have been teaching Pre-K/K Mandarin at Joyous Chinese Cultural Center School since 2006. I also teach on Sundays at Great Wall Chinese Academy and after-school Chinese programs at various elementary schools. I have certificates of completion from several workshops held by Colorado Chinese Language Teachers Consortium.

Now I am teaching Pre-K Mandarin at Colorado International School. I really enjoy working with kids and helping them grow. My goal is to prepare the children to be ready to start elementary education in Mandarin classes. My approach to teaching: Children progressively learn to express themselves in Mandarin as they are immersed in it all day while they engage in playful structured activities. Along with the other Pre-K/K teachers at CoIS, we focus on an IB thematic unit for a selected time, and the students learn Mandarin vocabulary relating to the IB theme. I also include teaching of letters of pinyin alphabet, vocabulary, songs, poetry, stories, and pre-mathematics. The students enjoy learning vocabulary and common expressions through art activities as well.