Ms. Megan Raymond has been working with children since 2001 and she loves the experience. Ms. Raymond earned her A.A. in Human Development from Santa Ana College in 2006. For five years, she worked for Orange Unified School District’s afterschool program. Ms. Raymond then became an Infant/Toddler Teacher at a special needs facility for seven years, where she was nominated for Down Syndrome Association of Orange County’s Educator of the Year Award in 2011. Ms. Raymond enjoys living in Old Towne Orange, catching a good band live, and spending time with friends and family.

Cristina Mayorazgo was born and raised in Santa Ana, California. She graduated from Godinez Fundamental High School and attended Santa Ana College. During her time at Santa Ana College, Ms. Mayorazgo has completed over 30 Early Childhood Education units and will soon be completing her Associate's Degree. Before working for LePort, Ms. Mayorazgo worked as a substitute preschool teacher. In her spare time, Ms. Mayorazgo enjoys reading books.

Ms. Rebeca Jimenez has worked in the Child Development field for many years. She has completed more than 25 units in Child Development. In 1998, she received her preschool director certificate and worked as a preschool director for 5 years. Ms. Jimenez joined LePort as an Assistant Teacher in 2016, and shortly after, decided to pursue her Montessori training. Ms. Jimenez attended the Montessori Institute of San Diego and graduated with her AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3 years) diploma in August 2018. She enjoys teaching children and seeing their growth academically and socially. In her spare time, Ms. Jimenez enjoys being active and attending classes at the gym, and she enjoys spending time with her family.

Ms. Christle Fells was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and currently lives in Long Beach. She has worked with infants and toddlers for 10 years and completed the Los Angeles Southwest College Child Development program with her Associate Teacher Infant & Toddler Certificate. Before joining LePort in August 2016, she worked as a day care provider and substitute teacher. Ms. Fells has a 14-year-old daughter, and she enjoys baking!

Ms. Hoyle graduated from Florida State University in 2004 with a degree in journalism. While traveling and pursuing her journalism career, she discovered that one of her biggest passions was teaching. To support her extensive international travel, Ms. Hoyle began teaching both English and Spanish to children aged 4-12 and fell in love! After ten years of teaching internationally, she decided to return to the United States to focus more intensely on her teaching career.

Ms. Hoyle completed her AMI Montessori teacher training for the 0 to 3 age group at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. She has also completed numerous early childhood education courses and continuously finds ways to expand on her knowledge so that she can keep growing as both a teacher and mother. She finds children to be both fascinating and inspiring and loves how their minds develop so rapidly. She takes pride in her role as a guide in assisting children in developing their minds and becoming better human beings. Ms. Hoyle enjoys spending time with her son, who also has a Montessori education, and she loves reading about the development of the child's mind and the many ways in which they learn.

Alma Arzate joined us in 2012 and is excited about becoming a valuable addition here at LePort Schools. Ms. Arzate has gained experience by volunteering as a Child Life Specialist from 2010 through 2012 at Miller Children’s Hospital at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. There she had the opportunity to interact with infants through adolescents. She also earned her certificate of completion in Careers with Children, which involved an additional year of experience at the LBCC Children’s Center. Ms. Arzate completed her AMI Montessori teacher training for the 0 to 3 age group at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her fiancée, creating personalized jewelry, cooking, and enjoys meditating every morning.

Ms. Lisa Hawkins is a mother of three who recently relocated to Southern California from Flagstaff, Arizona. Ms. Lisa received her AMI diploma in 2008 from the Montessori Institute in Denver, Colorado and worked at a Montessori school in Flagstaff for ten years where she worked with toddlers and infants. She has accumulated over 120 credit hours at Northern Arizona University in the fields of psychology and sociology. She has a passion for children and their learning, and loves that young children take nothing for granted and live each day with excitement and wonder about their environment. Ms. Lisa enjoys being outside hiking, biking, swimming, playing sports, reading, and going on all kinds of adventures with her family.

Ms. Sumayya is a compassionate and well-educated native of Pakistan. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Allama Iqbal in Islamabad, Pakistan. Additionally, she earned her master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Punjab, Pakistan. Prior to joining LePort, she worked as a teacher for 12 years. Ms. Sumayya believes that teaching is a sacred profession, and that it enhances the purity of mind, an honesty of your inner self. She is a mother of two young children and is very excited to join the LePort team!

Ms. Jaramillo was born and raised in Southern California. She has worked in the preschool setting since 1999. She holds a Montessori A to I Diploma (ages birth through 3) from the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In addition, Ms. Jaramillo has completed numerous early childhood education courses and continues to expand on her knowledge by participating in various courses and seminars.

Ms. Jaramillo has worked as a Head Toddler Teacher, Program Specialist, and School Site Director. She is a dedicated teacher who loves and respects the children. She is supportive of each child’s unique individuality and delights in watching their independence and love of learning grow.

Ms. Karla was born and raised in Orange County. She's known that she wanted to work with children since she was in the second grade. She received her Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Fullerton College and is continuing her education in Childhood and Adolescent Education at California State University, Fullerton. Ms. Karla has worked at the Anaheim YMCA for over 3 years prior to joining LePort Montessori. Apart from working with children, Ms. Karla enjoys hiking with her fiancé and dog Toto, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

Mrs. Reham Adly was born and raised in Egypt. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Arts. Mrs. Adly had always been interested in child development and after graduation, she began designing children’s furniture. However, after getting married and having her first child, she decided she wanted to share her passion for art with children. So, in addition to her interior design work, she worked as an art teacher for five years, teaching children how to paint and draw. When she moved to the United States, she completed her child development classes and worked as a Teacher’s Assistant at the LA Mission College Child Development Center. Mrs. Adly enjoys spending time with her two daughters and husband. She loves drawing and photography. In addition to English, Mrs. Adly is also fluent in Arabic.

Ms. Alexis Waters is an Orange County native and has lived in Huntington Beach most of her life. She studied Early Childhood Education at Laguna Technical College. Ms. Waters has worked with children for the past seven years as a Teacher’s Assistant and a Nanny before she joined LePort team. She is excited for the upcoming years and new experiences at LePort. Ms. Waters enjoys the beach, bike riding and spending time with her family.

Ms. Kari Gallo was born in Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 3, her life changed forever when her parents decided to move to California. Ms. Gallo realized she wanted to teach at an early age. When she was a child, she enjoyed pretending she was a teacher and mimicking what she had seen her teachers do!

Ms. Gallo attended the Orange County Regional Occupational Program (ROP) where she received her Infant/Toddler Assistant certificate. From that time on, she knew that she wanted to pursue her passion in working with children. Ms. Gallo found an even deeper passion, especially for the Montessori philosophy, once she started working at LePort. She is very intrigued by the Montessori methodology. Each day she looks forward to learning something new and incorporating the philosophy into her work, as well as with her own children. Both her son and her daughter attend the LePort Huntington Harbor campus. Ms. Gallo has completed her AMI Assistants to Infancy training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her children and go to Disneyland.

Maria Ferdinandus is a qualified AMI Montessori teacher with 23 years of experience. She completed her Early Childhood Education units at UCLA and holds a diploma in both Montessori and Child Psychology. Ms. Maria Ferdinandus absolutely loves working with children and in her free time can be found exploring the outdoors and enjoying art, one of her many talents and passions.

Mrs. Fizza Fallah was born and raised in India. She graduated from Osmania University, in Hyderabad, India, with her Bachelor’s Degree in May 2018, and received her AMI Montessori Primary diploma in April 2019. Mrs. Fallah has worked with young children for two years during her training and graduation. She is the mother of one child and has been married to her husband since 2017. Mrs. Fallah loves to spend time with her family, shopping, and watching movies.

Ms.Wiggins has been working in the field of education since 1997, and has been a member of LePort Montessori schools since 2008. She has an AA degree in Business. In her spare time she loves to hang out with her son experiencing new and exciting adventures with him.

Mrs. Perez is happy to bring her Montessori journey full circle with her return to LePort Montessori as a Primary Head Teacher. She comes to us with 25 years of Head Teacher’s experience. She always planned to work with young children and received her AS degree in Early Childhood Education from Rio Hondo College in Whittier, California. She took her first position as an Assistant Teacher, working with children in a Montessori school in 1987. It was during this time that she became very interested in the Montessori method. As she worked in the environment and started to develop her understanding of the foundations of the philosophy, ​she decided to fine-tune her specialization and enrolled in the Montessori ​Institute of Los Angeles ​teacher training course and received her AMI diploma in 1993​. She began working for the Montessori Children’s Center in Fountain Valley, which ​became LePort's first campus in 2000. In her spare time, Mrs. Perez is an avid runner and enjoys hiking and bike riding with her husband and friends.

Mrs. Erica Dancses was born and raised in San Pedro, California. After taking some time off to care for her second child, she decided it was time to return to the work force and pursue her passion, working with children. She completed a good foundation of classes at El Camino College and decided to work towards a degree in Early Childhood Education with Penn Foster. In her free time, Mrs. Dancses loves spending time with her family, baking, riding bikes and family dinners at Grandpa's house.

Ms. Pooja earned her B.A. in Economics from Mumbai University in India. Following graduation, she took on several corporate roles that leveraged her degree in Economics. During those years, she also actively worked with children as a volunteer teacher focused on fostering moral education in children. Ms. Pooja completed her Montessori training and is inspired by the method's emphasis on independence and self-motivated learning. Outside of work, Ms. Pooja enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as volunteering in the community.

Mrs. Tabassum Malek was born and raised in India. After marriage, she lived in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. Mrs. Malek brings to LePort years of childcare experience, most recently working with infants through preschoolers in the Plano Independent School District’s Employee Child Care Program in Plano, Texas. She earned her Early Childhood Education units at Laguna Technical College and is very excited to join the LePort family.

Ms. Jillian Snyder received her B.A. in Sociology from The College of Wooster in Ohio. Her mother was an AMI-trained guide, and as a child during her primary years she attended two Montessori schools in Texas. Once reconnected with Montessori philosophy as an adult, she pursued her master’s in Montessori Education from The University of San Diego as well as her AMI 0-3 and Primary diplomas through the Montessori Institute of San Diego. Through these trainings Ms. Snyder has become a strong supporter of the Montessori approach to education. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for the Montessori method. Mrs. Snyder is excited to continue collaborate with the talented team of teachers at LePort Schools as they continue to support and create quality personalized educational programs for each child. In her free time, Ms. Snyder appreciates skiing, the outdoors, and photography.

Ms. Bailey Padilla is from Flagstaff, Arizona and moved to Huntington Beach three years ago. She completed her Early Childhood Education units through Theoria Technical College. Ms. Padilla enjoys working with children and believes that while we can teach them a lot, they can also teach us so much!

Mrs. Farwa Ali is a double graduate of Osmania University Hyderabad, India with Bachelor degrees in Education and Communication. She completed her AMI Montessori Head Teacher training in 2014. This was a dream come true for her as she has always loved working with children and is passionate about the Montessori philosophy and making a difference through education. Mrs. Ali is a passionate, energetic, and fun loving educator who has been working with young children for the past seven years.

Before joining LePort Montessori, she was the co-head directress at Blue Blocks Montessori Pre-School in Hyderabad, India where she opened a new classroom and worked with Primary-aged students and their families. In her free time, Mrs. Ali enjoys spending time with her family and creative activities such as coloring, painting, and embroidery.

Mrs. Brittney Rojo was born and raised in Buena Park, California. She always knew she wanted to work with children and completed her Early Childhood Education units at Fullerton College and Laguna Tech. Mrs. Rojo’s first introduction to the Montessori philosophy was in 2007 when she began working for a school in Fullerton. She instantly fell in love with the Montessori method. Mrs. Rojo enjoys watching the children grow and seeing the interactions in mixed age classroom. Mrs. Rojo’s daughter also attends the Huntington Harbor campus, and she is very excited to watch her own daughter now grow in our Montessori program. In her spare time, Mrs. Rojo enjoys spending time with her husband and her daughter, and enjoys going to the movies, reading, and scrapbooking.

Ms. Shirley Checa-Veron travels to us all the way from Toronto! She graduated from the Early Childhood Education program at George Brown College and immediately began working at a Montessori home school where she was initially introduced to the Montessori Method. Prior to joining LePort, Ms. Shirley worked in the Casa and Toddler classroom as an assistant at Grand Avenue Montessori School for two years. In 2014, she decided to venture off in order to pursue the Primary Montessori program at the Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto. In addition to teaching, Ms. Shirley enjoys photography, playing or watching soccer, and exploring new cities. 

Ms. Naidana Cajero was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is currently attending Rio Hondo Community College to receive her AA degree in Child Development. From an early age, Ms. Cajero knew she wanted to work with young children. Aside from volunteering in a public elementary school and library, Ms.Cajero worked for another Montessori school prior to joining LePort Montessori.

Outside of work, Ms. Cajero enjoys traveling, watching movies, going to the beach, and loves spending time with family and friends.

Ms. Angelica Nava was born and raised in California. She graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development. Ms. Nava worked at a licensed preschool/daycare for five and a half years before exploring educational techniques outside traditional conventions. It is then that she became interested in the Montessori approach to teaching. She is amazed at the things children are capable of doing at such a young age with the proper guidance. She believes there is nothing more rewarding than working with children and being a part of their everyday learning.

In her free time, Ms. Nava enjoys reading and walking her two dogs. She loves spending time with friends and family, especially with her seven nieces and nephews.

Ms. Elva Aurora Penaloza was born in the city of Santa Ana, California. She graduated in 2014 from the California State University, Fullerton, with a degree in Human Services and a concentration in Child Development. She comes from a very united family, and with four brothers, she quickly learned the responsibilities of taking care of her youngest brothers and helping around the household at a young age. She learned that to achieve one's goals and dreams, one must work hard and have patience.

Ms. Penaloza is the mother of 6-year-old twins, a son named Angel and a daughter named Aurora, and enjoys spending time with her family. Some of her favorite hobbies include gardening, baking, cooking, listening to music, camping, and swimming. On her days off, she loves to go to Disneyland. Ms. Penaloza is bilingual in Spanish.

Ms. Dhanani’s love of teaching first began in 2001 when she did volunteer work in her local community in India. After graduating from Mata Gujri Girls College RDV University with a B.A., Ms. Dhanani went on to work professionally for the Aga Khan Development Network, an international organization dedicated to furthering human progress in the world.

Ms. Dhanani’s passion for teaching eventually led her to an exploration of Montessori ideas. She completed her AMI Primary Montessori training in 2006 from the Montessori Research and Training Centre in Hyderabad, India. She then went on to pursue a Montessori Elementary training certification and graduated from the AMI Montessori Institute of Milwaukee, WI in 2007. During this time, Ms. Dhanani spent considerable time in both Primary and Lower Elementary classrooms. After graduating, she worked at an acclaimed Montessori school in Texas as an elementary teacher.

Ms. Dhanani was then honored to be a part of the Montessori Model Program (2009) at the United Nations, where she motivated elementary students and facilitated their active participation in the program. Upon completing this program, she moved to California in 2009 and taught in a Lower Elementary classroom at LePort Montessori Westpark. When the opportunity arose to return to the Primary classroom, Ms. Dhanani was thrilled to accept. She focused her attention on 3- to 6-year-olds, who were her first educational interest, and enjoyed applying all of her experiences to her work with her students.

In 2015, after five years of working in LePort's Primary classrooms, Ms. Dhanani returned to teaching elementary students and is now teaching at LePort Huntington Harbor.

Mr. Jose De Jesus was born and raised in Michigan and graduated with a BA in sociology. In 2002, he began working with at-risk teenagers at Michigan State University and for several years afterwards in Chicago, as he saw a great need for mentors for future generations. A friend suggested he look into becoming a Montessori teacher, and upon researching Dr. Montessori’s method, he felt it was exactly where the traditional school system was failing. Mr. De Jesus graduated from the Elementary training course at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee in 2010, and he and his supportive wife moved to California, where he began working for LePort Montessori as a Lower Elementary teacher. After the birth of his second daughter, Mr. De Jesus made the difficult decision to stay at home with his daughters, putting his teaching career on hold. Mr. De Jesus is incredibly proud to return to LePort Huntington Harbor to continue the important work of guiding Elementary students as they explore our amazing world!

Mrs. Fisher grew up in Orange County and received her B.S. and Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials from California State University, Fullerton. Her previous teaching assignments have included elementary classes in both private and public schools, as well as pre-algebra through Algebra II in a junior high setting.

Mrs. Fisher’s extensive background in mathematics has offered excellent preparation for teaching the enriched curriculum LePort Schools offers our students. She strives to utilize her creativity in the classroom, so that each and every child becomes curious and confident in the field of mathematics. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time with her family, and relaxing by the beach.