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Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
The Senior Educational Leadership Team is responsible for the educational programs at our BIBS Shunyi campus. The individual and collective experience of our educational leadership team is extensive and impressive. This team is tasked with realizing the Beanstalk bilingual educational mission, modeling the behaviours identified in our school motto, and ensuring the professional implementation of our three International Baccalaureate Programs (PYP, MYP, and DP) with the Chinese National Curriculum. 
Kathy Shi
Kathy Shi
Founder / Board Director

Ms. Kathy Shi graduated from China Youth Political Science University and got a Bachelor‘s degree in Adolescent Education in 1994. She became the Principal of Beanstalk International Kindergarten (BIK) in 1998 when she began to explore the new mode of combining Eastern and Western education. In 2003, she founded the BIBS Primary School (now BIBS Upper East Side Campus) and in 2009, she opened the BIBS MS/HS school connecting the Primary, Middle and High School and making BIBS a full K- 12 school. For 17 years, Kathy has involved in international education and her wish is that “the experiences and ideas of BIBS can better serve both society and Chinese international education. ”

Jiangtao Gao
Jiangtao Gao
Principal of BIBS Haidian Academy

President, Beanstalk Education Research Institute

Former Vice-principal of RDFZ

Special Grade Teacher in Physics


GrahamTurner
GrahamTurner
BIEG Foreign Head of Schools

Former foreign principal of the ICC RDFZ, Master’s Level Teacher Trainer, held international school leadership roles in the USA, Canada, UK, and China. Award winner of Principal of the Year – China, Best Secondary Senior Leadership Team of Haidian Schools in Beijing, Best research undertaken by a teacher from a Commonwealth Country, and Best Teacher Award in Haidian Schools.

During his five years as the Academic Principal at the ICC RDFZ High School, the school’s IBDP, Cambridge A level and IGCSE courses, and the AP achieved great success.

Claire Liu
Claire Liu
Executive Principal

Claire Liu has a Master of Education in University of Edinburgh. After she graduated in 2011, she worked in private school first and then public school.She has 8 years' experience in international education. and joined in the Beijing Bayi School International Department as a co-founder in 2013. She worked as the director and was responsible for future development strategy, curriculum design, college counselling and student management etc. She believes that a great school should be responsible for each student and create the platform for both individualized study and holistic development. Love in education is the magic to change a student's life.

Jun Yin
Jun Yin
Principal of BIBS Haidian Academy

Senior teacher and high-level principal in Beijing, with 36 years of experience in education and over 20 years in school management. She previously held roles as the executive principal at Zhongguancun No. 1 Elementary School and as the Party Secretary principal of the Experimental Elementary School affiliated with Renmin University, also serving as the vice-principal and the Party Secretary principal of Beijing School (K12). She has received numerous honors including Haidian District Mathematics Subject Leader, Education Research Leader, Education Management Innovation Award, Advanced Individual in Education, Outstanding Communist Party Member, Excellent Party Worker, 'March 8 Red-Banner Holder' (Women's Achievement Award), Excellent Party Secretary and Principal for Promoting Democratic Development, National Mathematics Competition's Outstanding Coach, and National Education Research's Advanced Individual. She lives by the educational philosophy of understanding oneself, challenging oneself, and exceeding oneself, aiming to let every 'flower of life' bloom.


Lillian Zhao
Lillian Zhao
Principal of BIBS Haidian Academy

Bachelor's degree in English Education and master’s degree in education from Beijing Normal University. Senior English teacher, winner of the National English Teacher Gardener Award, Leading English teacher in Beijing, core compiler of the People's Education Press high school English textbook, and mentor of the Haidian District Star Teachers. Former English teacher and homeroom teacher of “Ivy League” students at RDFZ, director of the International Curriculum Research Center in Haidian District, and Party Secretary and Head of Secondary of a well-known bilingual school. Familiar with both domestic and international education systems, committed to creating a warm, supportive, and loving school culture, and cultivating young future forces with dual native language capability, multi-culture vision and global mindset.


Mr. Zawacki
Mr. Zawacki
MSHS foreign principal

Mr. Zawacki earned a bachelor's in history with an option in Social Science and specialized in the history of ideas and legal history.  From California, he holds a Secondary Teaching Credential in Social Science, English, and Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD)(ELA)(SDAIE) and a Master of Science in Education, with an emphasis in Online Teaching and Learning (EdTech).  Twice selected by the National Endowment of the Humanities, he studied at Amherst College and UCL/University Nottingham. In addition, he had the honor of studying with two Nobel Prize winning economists: Douglas North (Institutions) and Vernon Smith (Game Theory). Other post graduate work includes studies at Loyola Marymount University, U.C. Davis, University of the Pacific, UOP McGeorge School of Law, NYU, George Mason University, James Madison University, SIEPR at Stanford University, and the Federal Reserve Bank. He has earned certificates from Cornell University and from the London School of Economics. 


Mr. Zawacki taught for eleven years in California before moving to China. In China he has taught at Beijing No. 4 IC (3 years), RDFZ ICC (2 years), and in Hong Kong (2 years). Before becoming a teacher, he was a manager for Tower and International Liaison for a publisher. 


Gerrie Blignaut
Gerrie Blignaut
ES/EYC Principal

Gerrie Blignaut is an experienced Primary School leader, with over 18 years of teaching and leading across all Primary levels. He has a B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education Degree) from the University of South Africa. He also successfully  completed his CSML (School Management and Leadership) course at Harvard Business School and is currently busy with his MBA (Master of Business  Administration) Degree at York University St. John’s.  Gerrie, his wife and six year old daughter have lived in China for over 2 years where he has served as the head of primary at a Bilingual International school in Foshan and is thrilled to bring his skills as an educational leader to BIBS Haidian academy. Gerrie is a transformational leader in education who leads by example and places a high value on creating community bonds, which encourage both students and teachers to greater levels of achievement. He enjoys spending time with his family, exploring nature walks and love to travel. 

Mico Men
Mico Men
ES Chinese Principal

Chinese Principal of primary School, M.ED. Master of Education Leadership, B.A. Bachelor of Chinese Language and Literature, qualified for the post of president of Beijing Normal University.


She has been engaged in international bilingual education for nearly 20 years and co-founded three well-known international bilingual schools in Beijing. She has served as a Chinese teacher, teaching director, IBPYP course Coordinator and Principal of the Department, and won the honorary titles of Excellent Teacher in Shunyi District, Excellent Educator in Shunyi District and Excellent Educator in Beijing. Proficient in The Chinese national curriculum, IB framework and IPC international curriculum, dedicated to academic research and curriculum development, education and teaching management and reform, professional teachers and compound team training; She wrote the teaching instruction manual of the reading project, led the team to develop and construct the Chinese curriculum structure, bilingual mathematics curriculum framework, Learning Center English classroom model and diversified evaluation system.

Jennifer Hou
Jennifer Hou
Principal of EYC

Jennifer Hou graduated from Nankai University, majoring in English Language Education. Thereafter, she went to Canada to pursue preschool education. She devotes herself to the cause of preschool education as a lifelong learner. During the two decades of teaching and management, she has been affectionately known as 'Hou mom'. With 7 years of IB teaching and management experience and 14 years of International kindergarten management experience, Jennifer Hou is deeply aware of the importance of preschool education in a child's life, and believes that the core value of education is 'Helping the child become himself'.

施华 女士

创始人董事长兼总裁

创始人董事长兼总裁