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LePort School Solana Beach Staff

School Administration

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Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee

Head of School

Sarah Lee has served the Montessori community for over 10 years. After receiving her K-12 public school art teaching certificate and practicing art in a Middle School in Illinois, she discovered Montessori education as an Assistant Teacher in a Lower Elementary classroom. Mrs. Sarah absolutely fell in love with the way a teacher guided the children in order to foster their love for learning. She has embraced the Montessori philosophy to its fullest ever since, especially after she obtained her Master Degree in Montessori Elementary Education with her Association Montessori Internationale Elementary Montessori certificate from Montessori Institute of San Diego and University of Maryland, Baltimore. Mrs. Sarah believes that Montessori is a way of life and is a huge advocate for Montessori education. She firmly believes that Montessori helps the whole human being, emotionally, socially, and academically and aids the children to become a successful member of our society from an early age. As the Head of School, Mrs. Sarah oversees all operations, and ensures that each student at the school receives the highest quality Montessori education. When not fully immersed in Montessori methods, Sarah enjoys her time outdoors with her daughter, Sadie, husband, Steve, and dog, Puffy.
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Sandy Marlor

Sandy Marlor

Business Manager

Originally from the United Kingdom, Mrs. Sandy Marlor obtained a Higher National Diploma in Business Studies before traveling extensively and embracing different cultures of the world. Mrs. Marlor settled in San Diego to be near her family after the birth of her twins. Extensive research brought her to the conclusion that she wanted a Montessori education for her children, and she then found the wonderful Fallbrook Montessori School, where for 10 years she was the administrative assistant.

This role brought great happiness as she deepened her knowledge of Montessori and watched her own children blossom into curious, confident beings. Mrs. Marlor worked at Santa Fe Montessori School as an administrative assistant and is excited to continue her love of the Montessori school environment with LePort. Outside of work, she enjoys art galleries, all outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.

Infant

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Jennifer Hull

Jennifer Hull

Head Montessori Teacher (Infant)

Ms. Jennifer has been a teacher for 24 years, working with all ages. Most of her experience has been with infants and toddlers. She is currently studying at Grossmont College, where her major is Child Development with an emphasis on Infants and toddlers. She aspires to finish her Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development as well as complete her Associates Degree in American Sign Language. Ms. Jennifer likes to incorporate sign language with infants as she believes it helps them to communicate their needs with her before they have the verbal skills to do so. She would love to bring her two passions together and work within the deaf community.
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Donna Cabral

Donna Cabral

Head Montessori Teacher (Infant)

Ms. Donna has lived in San Diego her whole life. She is a mother of 5 and grandmother of 11. She is currently working on her degree to become a master teacher. She has worked in the field of early childhood education since 2000. Prior to beginning at LePort, Donna worked mainly with toddlers. Donna believes that working with infants is such a wonderful experience as you get to introduce them to new things and help to guide them in the exploration of their surroundings. It is such a joy to see when they experience something for the first time.

In her free time, Donna loves to spend time with her family. A couple of her hobbies include bowling and crafting.
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Laurie Baldwin

Laurie Baldwin

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Laurie Baldwin has lived her whole life in San Diego County and has taught and worked with children for the past 25 years. She received her B.A. in Psychology and studied Early Childhood Education as well. Ms. Baldwin taught in traditional preschools for years until discovering the beauty of the Montessori method. Since then, she has been an assistant in Montessori classrooms for ten years.

Ms. Baldwin has always had a desire to work with children and be a positive influence in their lives. She also has a passion for animals, cooking, reading, and the outdoors.
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Fagnouman Fofana

Fagnouman Fofana

Assistant Teacher

Fagnouman was born and raised in France in a large family, so her relationship with children comes naturally. Family is very important to Fagnouman. She loves spending time with her husband and son, and visiting family and friends in France when she has the opportunity. She began working with children professionally in 2017 as a babysitter for a childcare agency alongside her studies.

After obtaining her diploma in Tourism, Fagnouman decided to combine education with pleasure by going to live for a year in the United States with an American family to take care of their children and learn English. These different experiences working with children reinforced her choice to become an early childhood educator. Fagnouman is very dedicated. It is important to give the best of herself to promote children's growth and development, and she believes that the Montessori approach allows children to learn crucial skills that will serve them for life.
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Claire Szymanski

Claire Szymanski

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Claire was born and raised in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. She grew up in a less traditional household and went to schools which nurtured her love for a hands-on learning and creative movement. Her passions come from being surrounded by art, the outdoors and surfing. In her free time she enjoys friends and family, hiking, music and running.
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Zheming Yu

Zheming Yu

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Toddler

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Lauren Kipps

Lauren Kipps

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Ms. Lauren went to preschool next door to LePort at Sandy Hill Nursery School, where she enjoyed learning and playing among the sandstone cliffs and pine trees. She has a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a Master’s Degree in Teaching from University of California, Irvine. After learning about the Montessori approach while studying for her Master’s, Ms. Lauren was eager to learn more, and to put Montessori methodologies into practice whenever possible. Prior to joining the LePort family, she was able to creatively integrate best practices while teaching with a program that is guided by the latest research. Ms. Lauren is grateful to shift her focus to early childhood education, and to help provide a wholesome, empowering, and inspiring beginning for toddlers. She adores creative writing, drawing, reading, hiking and songwriting.
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Valerie Isham

Valerie Isham

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Bio coming soon.
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Charlotte Cunningham

Charlotte Cunningham

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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Kimberly Sanders

Kimberly Sanders

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Bio coming soon.
Carissa Velasquez

Carissa Velasquez

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.

Primary

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Lisa Reynolds

Lisa Reynolds

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Lisa Reynolds has worked for LePort since October 2017, when she was hired as an Assistant Teacher and After Care Coordinator. Her strong work ethic, dedication, and commitment to the Montessori philosophy made her the ideal candidate when a Head Teacher position came available the following school year.

Before she found Montessori, Ms. Lisa worked as an ESL instructor in Shenzhen, China for four years, with children ages 3 to 17. Prior to her work in China, she taught ESL for 18 months in Yonago, Japan. She moved back to America in 2016 to train as a Montessori Primary teacher at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. She is excited to share her Montessori training, as well as her experience abroad, with her students. Outside of work, Ms. Lisa enjoys running, reading, drinking coffee, and of course, spending time with loved ones.
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Leanne Vultaggio

Leanne Vultaggio

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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Emma Gitters

Emma Gitters

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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Elnaz Vandaie

Elnaz Vandaie

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Miss Elle was born and raised in Cupertino, California, and moved to San Diego from Silicon Valley where she earned two degrees, an Associate in Arts in Child Development Associate Teacher, and in Liberal Arts Emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her passion is working with children and she hopes to continue her education by taking the training to become a Montessori Teacher one day. Miss. Elle is a pianist and taught piano to young children before she pursued her dream in education. Miss Elle is also bilingual in Farsi and English. When she is not working, she loves to garden and collect different plant varieties from her travels, and also has a passion for cooking!
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Claudia Nelson

Claudia Nelson

Assistant Teacher, Spanish Immersion

Bio coming soon.

Elementary

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Kait DeGrazia

Kait DeGrazia

Head Montessori Teacher (Elementary)

Ms. Kait DeGrazia started her work with children 12 years ago working in a preschool in Orange County with pre-k and kindergarten students. She left the preschool to complete her BA in marketing management from Menlo College. After college, Ms. Kait worked in sales and marketing for four years before missing the joys of working with children. She received her AMS E1 Credential from The Montessori Center for Teacher Education in San Diego. She worked at the Maria Montessori school for 3 years before starting her career at LePort. 
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Mireya Pope

Mireya Pope

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Miryea Pope began her career in early child care education over fifteen years ago through volunteering at her children’s elementary schools and eventually, it became my career. She enjoys working at LePort because children learn essential life skills that stay with them forever. Most importantly, it is a place where children have fun in a safe and loving environment.

In her spare time, Mireya enjoys hiking, cooking, watching movies, and spending time with her family.
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Samantha Cannon

Samantha Cannon

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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Ivonne Sanchez-Alpizar

Ivonne Sanchez-Alpizar

Head Montessori Teacher (Elementary)

Bio coming soon.

Additional Staff

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Horyeh Golabi

Horyeh Golabi

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Horyeh has lived in Southern California for 36 years and moved to San Diego in 2019 to be closer to family. Before joining LePort, Ms. Horyeh owned and ran two businesses in addition to having worked in a preschool setting when her girls were young. She is passionate about working with children and delights in the joy of experiencing the world through their eyes. She believes mindful, compassionate attentiveness is the foundation of all interactions, especially those with children. Outside of work, Horyeh is a devoted practitioner of yoga and meditation and enjoys being in nature and spending time with loved ones. She has three adult daughters and a grandson with whom she loves spending time.

© Copyright 2023, LePort Montessori
Spring Education Group is controlled by Primavera Holdings Limited, an investment firm (together with its affiliates) principally based in Hong Kong with operations in China, Singapore, and the United States, that is itself owned by Chinese persons residing in Hong Kong.

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