Teachers

Koper International School Teacher
Julia O'Regan (GB)

Secondary English and History Teacher

Katie Whitton (GB)
Katie Whitton (GB)

Primary Class Teacher and PE Specialist starting from 25th August 2025

Katja Lansetti Koper nternational-School Italian Language and Literature (Native), German Second Language Teacher
Katja Lansetti (ITA)

Primary Italian and KS3 German Teacher

Christina Bowers Smith (USA)
Christina Bowers (USA)

Primary Class Teacher and Psychology A-Level Specialist

Sofia Orozco Rojas
Sofía Orozco Rojas (Costa Rica)
Secondary Spanish and Music Teacher

James picture final
James Gritten (USA)

Secondary Maths and KS3 Science Teacher

Ivana-Koper International-School German and French Teacher
Ivana Medanović (CRO)

Secondary German and French Teacher

Valentina Macchione Vlacovich (ITA)
Valentina Macchione Vlacovich (ITA)

Primary Science, Italian and Art Teacher

Koper International school Teacher
Katie Coakley (USA)

English Language Acquisition
Teacher

Anđela Đukić
Anđela Đukić (SRB)

Computer Science and Secondary Science Teacher

Koper International School Teacher
Nika Ade-Balogun (SLO)

Secondary French and Italian
Teacher

Koper International School
Dr. Pavel Janos (CZE)

Secondary A-level Biology Teacher

Koper International School Teacher
Stanko Rajcic (SLO)

PE Teacher and Administrator

Angela_KEM_BIO
Dr. Angela Parise (ITA)

Secondary A-Level Chemistry Teacher

Jane Ashdown Koper International-School Primary Teaching Assistant
Jane Ashdown (GB)

Primary Teaching Assistant

Koper International School Teacher
Nika Ade-Balogun (SLO)

Secondary French and Italian

Koper International School Teacher

A founding member of Koper International School, Julia brings 8 years international teaching and management experience to the team. She is a highly qualified teacher and expert in her fields of English and History, having an International Masters from University of Glasgow in Russian and Eastern European Studies and a Masters from Jagiellonian University in European Politics. She completed her PGCE QTS in English teaching from Edgehill University, and has taught in Poland, Italy and Slovenia. She is looking forward to teaching History, Politics and English A-level from September.

Julia O'Regan (GB)

Secondary English and History Teacher

Katie Whitton (GB)

Joining the team on 25th August 2025, Katie brings with her 25 years of teaching experience in an international school setting. Originally from the UK, she completed her degree and teacher training in Child and Family studies with a specialisation in English at the University of Leeds. Katie has worked extensively as a lower primary class teacher, with a strong passion for establishing healthy habits and integrating physical activity into the classroom. She is particularly dedicated to raising literacy standards and prides herself on guiding all children to high levels in reading and writing through the Oxford Reading Tree series. Katie is married to a Slovene and has three teenage children. She is excited to contribute her expertise and energy to our learning community.

Katie Whitton (GB)

Primary Class Teacher and PE Specialist starting from 25th August 2025

Christina Bowers Smith (USA)

With more than 20 years of experience, Christina joins us from Arizona, USA, where she is currently teaching 5th grade across all subjects. She holds a Psychology and Art degree from the University of Delaware, teaching certificates from Arizona State University, a graduate certificate in Language and Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia Studies, and a master’s degree in Educating Multilingual Learners. Christina is passionate about inclusive education and supporting diverse learners. She will be relocating to Slovenia with her four children, who will also be joining our school, and is excited to become part of our international community.

Christina Bowers (USA)

Primary Class Teacher and Psychology A-Level Specialist

Katja Lansetti Koper nternational-School Italian Language and Literature (Native), German Second Language Teacher

Katja joins us with over 15 years of experience teaching Italian and German. Holding a Master’s degree in German Literature, she is a qualified teacher trained in Italy, with additional teaching experience in both Slovenia and Austria. Katja particularly enjoys working with primary-aged students, bringing creativity and enthusiasm to her language lessons. She lives in the Karst region with her husband and their four cats and is looking forward to inspiring a love of languages in her new students.

Katja Lansetti (ITA)

Primary Italian and KS3 German Teacher

Sofia Orozco Rojas

Sofia is joining us from Costa Rica as our new Spanish and Music teacher. A classically trained pianist, she holds a degree in Music with a focus on piano and education. She previously taught IB Music in an international school in Costa Rica and has four years of experience teaching both Music and Spanish. Currently based in Trieste with her Italian partner, Sofia is eager to bring her musical expertise and linguistic skills to the classroom. In addition to her native Spanish, she speaks English at C2 level and has a B1 level in Italian.

Sofía Orozco Rojas (Costa Rica)

Secondary Spanish and Music Teacher

James picture final

With over 40 years of teaching experience, we are honoured to welcome James to our team. He holds a master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Vermont and spent over 30 years teaching in two U.S. schools before beginning his international career five years ago. James joins us from Kosovo, having also taught in Tajikistan, and brings extensive experience teaching mathematics at all levels—from primary to university. His deep expertise and dedication to education will be a tremendous asset to our students.

James Gritten (USA)

Secondary Maths and KS3 Science Teacher

Ivana-Koper International-School German and French Teacher

Ivana is an accomplished linguist and language educator with more than 25 years of experience across Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia. She joins us as our secondary French and German teacher. Holding a Master’s degree in Foreign Language Teaching from the University of Zagreb, Ivana is fluent in Croatian, German, French, Italian, and English. Her passion for languages and multicultural learning environments will enrich our modern languages department and support students in achieving fluency and cultural understanding.

Ivana Medanović (CRO)

Secondary German and French Teacher

Valentina Macchione Vlacovich (ITA)

Valentina is an internationally trained Montessori educator with over 20 years of experience, having studied and worked in India, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Germany. She is the founder of a trilingual Montessori school in Italy and also established the Montessori Farm of the Dolomites—a residential summer camp focused on holistic learning, science, and nature. Valentina has worked as a bilingual teaching assistant in France, using both English and French. Now based in Trieste, she will be teaching Primary Art, Science, and Italian, as well as Italian and Art in Secondary School. We look forward to her hands-on, holistic teaching approach that integrates creativity, nature, and cross-cultural understanding.

Valentina Macchione Vlacovich (ITA)

Montessori Primary Science, Italian and Art Teacher

Koper International school Teacher

Katie is joining us as an English Acquisition teacher, previously worked and volunteered as a teaching assistant in primary and middle schools in the USA. She has a degree in Politics Science, and is passionate about improving standards of literacy in younger students.

Katie Coakley (USA)

English Language Acquisition Teacher

Anđela Đukić

An all round scientist and programming specialist. Angela is joining us fresh from her Masters degree in Maths, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies from Primorska University, which she studied in English. Despite being the youngest member of our teaching team, she has 5 years experience in education, primarily teaching gifted and talented students aged 12 to 18, preparing them for national competitions and university entrance.

Anđela Đukić (SRB)

Computer Science and Secondary Science Teacher

Koper International School Teacher

A confident linguist, with a degree in French and Italian Studies with Literature from The Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, Nika has over 10 years of experience in language education. In addition to her native Slovene, she is fluent in English, Spanish, and Croatian, making her a true polyglot and a valuable resource for students with diverse linguistic backgrounds.She is enthusiastic to pass on her language passion to the next generation.

Nika Ade-Balogun (SLO)

Secondary French and Italian Teacher

Koper International School

Pavel is joining us as a secondary Biology specialist, he completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Masaryk in his hometown of Brno. He previously worked as a lecturer in English at the University faculatury. He currently works full time as a researcher at an institute inTrieste. He will be joining us teaching Biology A-level 3 mornings a week.In addition to his native Czech he is fluent in English, having completed the CAE C1 exam at age 18.

Dr. Pavel Janos (CZE)

Secondary A-level Biology Teacher

Koper International School Teacher

Our PE teacher brings over 30 years of experience in basketball, having played professionally for many years before continuing at a high-level non-professional level. With more than a decade of coaching experience, he has worked with young basketball players of all ages, combining his deep knowledge of the game with a strong sense of patience and enthusiasm. He strongly believes in the importance of leading an active lifestyle and encourages students to explore and enjoy a variety of sports to build confidence, teamwork, and lifelong healthy habits.

Stanko Rajcic (SLO)

PE Teacher and Administrator

Angela_KEM_BIO

Angela has a double doctorate in Bio-medicine from the University of Calabria and University of Paris. Previously working in university faculties and currently working as a researcher in a science institute in Trieste, she is excited to be teaching again from September. She is joining us as a secondary chemistry specialist 3 mornings a week for A-level classes. She is thrilled to be passing on her passion for chemistry to the next generation, working exclusively with higher level students. In addition to her native Italian, she speaks C1 level English and French.

Dr. Angela Parise (ITA)

Secondary A-Level Chemistry Teacher

Jane Ashdown Koper International-School Primary Teaching Assistant

Jane is originally from Kent in the UK, with a kind gentle personality, she has worked in after school programmes and clubs for the last 15 years. She will be joining us as a part time teaching assistant and for after school clubs.

Jane Ashdown (GB)

Primary Teaching Assistant

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