LePort Montessori

Ms. Jodie Bato was born and raised in Southern California. Her love for children and education set her on the path of Early Childhood Education. After two years of being an assistant teacher in the infant program, Ms. Jodie knew that her passion lies with Montessori and made the decision to take the training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. There, she earned her AMI Diploma in 2021. Before joining LePort, Ms. Jodie spent time volunteering at the UCI Medical Center in their Child Life Volunteer program where she provided support services for children and their families to ease their feelings of discomfort and fear brought on by hospitalizations. In her spare time, Ms. Jodie enjoys spending time with family and friends and learning new skills.

Ms. Fariba Bavafa has 20 years of background in Agricultural Research. After immigrating to the United States with her family, her love for children inspired her to pursue a certificate of Early Childhood Development from Irvine Valley College. She had a wonderful experience volunteering at IVC’s Child Development Center. She is blessed with this great opportunity to work at LePort Montessori. Ms. Fariba loves to see independence in children, and also loves to work with children in all ages especially infants.

In her free time, Ms. Fariba enjoys meditation, reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband and her two wonderful sons.

Ms. Lisa is a life-long resident of California. She believes strongly in Montessori Philosophy. She has many years experience working with children of all ages. Ms. Lisa started her career at LePort in 2018 as an assistant teacher. After watching the toddlers flourish in their program she decided to become a head teacher. She is now eagerly seeking her Infant/Toddler certification at The Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She is looking forward to guiding children on their journey through the Montessori environment. In her spare time, Ms. Lisa loves spending time with her adult children and running outdoors.

Ms. Treisa Casteel has worked in education since the early 2000s in various Montessori schools. Her passion has always been with the toddler age. She thinks they are inquisitive- wanting to know why things work the way they do and are always asking questions. Ms Treisa began working in Montessori education at a LePort school back in 2004. After 10 wonderful years supporting classrooms, she received Montessori Assistants to Infancy (0-3 teaching) credentials in 2014 from the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In her free time she enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and going to the movies with her son. She also likes to think of new, engaging activities for her students and create them herself for the class to enjoy.

Ms. Annette’s passion for children inspired her to pursue a career in early childhood education beginning in 2012, shortly after attending Long Beach City College, where she earned Early Childhood Education credits and a Teacher’s Permit. In early 2014, Ms. Annette discovered LePort Montessori in Encinitas, California where she started as an Nido Assistant Teacher. Since then, Ms. Annette has grown to love Montessori education. She earned her AMI Montessori credential for ages 0-3 from The Montessori Institute in Denver, Colorado. She has worked with infants, toddlers, and preschool children since 2012 and as a Montessori Guide since 2018.

Above all, Ms. Annette enjoys developing strong relationships with the children, parents, and staff of LePort. Outside of work, she loves spending quality time with her son, Matteo, her husband, and her pug.

Ms. Brenda was born in Guatemala and moved to the United States when she was a young child. At an early age, she helped take care of her siblings, and from that time forward she set her sights on a career in early childhood education. Before starting with LePort, Ms. Brenda worked as a nanny for nearly two years. She later enrolled in the child development program at Cerritos College, earning an associate degree in Early Childhood Development. She went on to earn her AMI Montessori Diploma at the Montessori Institute of San Diego in 2018.

Ms. Ivette De Haro was raised in South Orange County, CA. She attended Saddleback College where she completed her A.A. in Liberal Studies and earned a Certificate in Early Childhood Development. She worked as a nanny for several years and during this time she was exposed to the Montessori method through the children for whom she cared. She started working at LePort Spectrum North as an Assistant Teacher in February of 2013 and began her training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego the following year. She earned her Montessori Diploma in August of 2015 and began working at LePort Spectrum South as a Head Teacher in the Infant Community and became the Head Teacher of the Spanish Immersion Toddler Class in January of 2018. Ms. Ivette’s greatest joy is watching the children explore their environment and learn to speak and understand Spanish fluently during their time in her class. In her free time, Ms. Ivette enjoys spending time with her family and her two dogs.

A native of Orange County, California, Mrs. Wendy DeCosta began her career with LePort Montessori in 2013 as the Administrative Director for the Huntington Harbor campus, bringing a new level of excellence and service to our cherished families and staff. In 2015, Mrs. DeCosta took an opportunity to join the team at LePort Orchard Hills and serve as Administrative Director of this young and vibrant campus. With her expertise, professionalism, and warm, caring personality, Mrs. DeCosta is a true asset to the Orchard Hills students, families and staff.

Prior to joining LePort, Mrs. DeCosta operated her own successful, licensed, in-home family day care for 2 years, offering high quality, nurturing care for a number of wonderful children, including those with special needs. As any of the parents she has worked with will attest, Mrs. DeCosta’s caring warmth, compassion, and love for children is a true gift. This, coupled with her rich palette of business management and operational experience from the spa/salon and apparel industries, makes Mrs. DeCosta uniquely suited to foster the continued success and growth of our Orchard Hills campus and offer her wholehearted support to all LePort students and their families.

In her free time, Mrs. DeCosta enjoys spending time with her husband of 18 years and their two children, as well as camping, hiking, running, and spending long days at the beach.

Neda was born in Iran. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from Bahai Institute of Higher Education. She also received credit for the practicum course regarding children with learning disorders. She has worked as a teacher, counselor for youth and teenagers, and a university professor instructing courses such as Teaching Methods, Principles of Education, and Developmental Psychology. In the last five years of her stay in Iran, she had been working as an education director of a child development center. She also worked as a consultant and specialist to help children with learning disorders. Neda immigrated to the US with her husband and two children in 2013. She joined Leport Montessori schools in 2014 as an assistant teacher. In May 2017 she obtained her Montessori diploma for the age group of 2.5 to 6 years from the Montessori Institute of San Diego (MISD). Then she continued her work in Leport as a primary head teacher. Neda updated her knowledge for assisting children with special needs by participating in the Inclusive Education Course at MISD and received her certificate in the Summer of 2019. Shortly after that, she went to Italy to attend a Music Therapy course and obtained yet another certificate to enable her further in her career.
Neda found her job compatible with her innate passion for working with children and serving the society.

In her free time, Neda enjoys spending time with her family and doing various activities such as going for hikes and being in nature. Furthermore, she enjoys reading, playing the guitar, watching movies, and being actively involved in community services.