Rebecca Ragsdale was born and raised in Waycross, Georgia. After earning her B.S., she returned to her hometown and taught secondary mathematics for ten years. Some of her favorite memories of those years include working with the National Beta Club, as well as hosting other student-led clubs throughout her years as an educator. Ms. Ragsdale truly believes in building meaningful relationships with students and inspiring curiosity in the classroom. In her free time, she likes all things music. She often goes to concerts and musicals, and she greatly enjoys singing. Her other hobbies include finding the best coffee around, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Scadden has been teaching for 8 years. He began his teaching career in the San Francisco public high schools where he taught primarily history, along with health and college preparatory courses. In 2018 he took his first steps into the world of international schools, moving to Albania to teach social studies at an IB school. Afterwards, Mr. Scadden moved to Japan to teach History and English Literature, before moving back to San Francisco briefly. He believes that education should always be student centered, giving students multiple creative and academic outlets to showcase their knowledge while also providing a strong differentiated education for each student. He looks forward to taking part in community building both inside and outside the classroom at APIS by supporting any extracurricular interests of the student body. Aside from teaching Mr. Scadden enjoys skiing and snowboarding, as well as going to the movies or staying in and reading fiction.

Mr. Sim earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from McMaster University, where he majored in English literature. After graduating, he moved to Toronto where he worked for several years as a recording engineer at Reaction Studios. In 2006, Mr. Sim made the decision to come to Korea to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). Inspired by his experiences in Korea, he returned to Canada to study intermediate senior English and history education at Trent University. At APIS, Mr. Sim teaches High School (HS) English, Middle School (MS) Writer’s Workshop, and recording arts. In addition to those things already mentioned, Mr. Sim also enjoys reading, feeling frustrated on the tennis court, and occasionally laboring his way up mountains.

Pursuing his passion for music education, Matthew Tavares is an IB Certified and Massachusetts State certified music teacher with experience covering teaching at International Schools for over five years and U.S. Public Schools teaching for over sixteen years since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1999. A Boston, Massachusetts native, he only recently became interested in a career teaching Internationally. He has worked with many different music programs as a Classroom Teacher, an Instrumental Teacher, and Band Director.
An adept musician and percussion specialist, he is skilled at all aspects of playing all instruments and the pedagogy behind each of them. His belief that all students are gifted and talented and deserve the chance to express their ideas and love of music in a challenging, entertaining, and enriching environment has been the central idea of his educational practices. His hope is to instill a joy for music making and enthusiasm for learning in his students both as good musicians and as good people.
During his free time, he enjoys listening to and playing music, learning new languages and cultures, meeting new people, golfing, badminton, Hello Kitty and traveling.

Ms. Trezise was born and grew up in Australia. After pursuing university studies, her passion for diversity, culture, and language saw her move and teach abroad. She brings 16 years of classroom experience from different schools in Australia, New Zealand, Macau SAR, and China. Miss Trezise is passionate about life in Seoul and looks forward to learning Korean and trying local food. She believes that all students make sense of language to successfully communicate, expand their learning of the world, and be empowered to speak, listen, read, and write. She is an advocate of trans-language, where a successful knowledge of the first language supports the acquisition of additional languages by the individual using foundational tools of their mother tongue to go between additional languages. Outside of the classroom, you will find Ms. Trezise walking her schnauzer Ginny, playing badminton, trying new food, or traveling to learn more about the world we live and serve in.

Mr. Wright is from Indianapolis, Indiana, and graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in English education and completed his Master of Education in International Teaching at Framingham State University. He has been teaching for over five years. He is passionate about helping students learn to take ownership of their own learning so that they may become lifelong learners who never stop seeking knowledge and looking for ways to improve themselves. John Dewey said it best: “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

Ms. You has more than 10 years of experience in teaching Chinese and has taught at two universities in China. She holds the Certificate for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. She is committed to promoting Chinese language learning among children and adolescents in South Korea. Recognized for her modern, student-centered teaching philosophy, her classes are both highly effective and engaging. With a strong sense of professionalism and a distinctive personal style, she is dedicated to fostering a positive and inspiring learning environment for all her students.