Meet the Team - Main Campus

Ms. Heather was born in New Jersey and migrated down south after living in New York City. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance from Rutgers University and has been a ballet teacher for twenty years. Ms. Heather worked as a teaching artist/ arts educator with a nonprofit arts organization while living in New York. She found her passion here for little ones during teaching residencies at many schools throughout the tri state area. Heather received her Montessori Teacher Certification in 2019 and has been a teacher in the preschool classroom since 2018. She is also a certified yoga instructor, nature lover, and enjoys planting veggies in her garden. Heather loves her role in guiding children towards finding their independence in the classroom and enjoys seeing their growth and confidence build each day. Ms. Heather resides in Covington with her husband Ryan, daughter Harper, chicken Zebra, and cat Dr. Honeydew.

“The First duty of the educator, whether he is involved with the newborn infant or the older child, is to recognize the human personality of the young being and respect it.’  -Marie Montessori

Lora began her journey with Montessori when she attended Kinder Haus Montessori in Metairie, as a child, many many years ago. She joined our Kinder Haus in 2020.  Lora is a NAMC Montessori Certified teacher for birth to age 3.  Her daughter, Tori, attended University Montessori in Hammond, when Lora was completing her Bachelors degree in Art Education from SLU. Her other studies have included photography (Brooks Institute of Photography, CA), graphic design (LSU), psychology and biology (Louisiana Tech).

In her free time, Lora enjoys volunteering with START (St Tammany Animal Rescue Team), making art and exploring the world with her daughter.  For her, education is a never ending process and Kinder Haus has given her the greatest opportunity of all; to learn from the children.

Kinder Haus is a fantastic place to practice teaching and guiding children on how to navigate the world. Lucy has been exploring with the children of Kinder Haus as she imagines her future in education as a teacher. As the middle child in her family Lucy has grown to be patient and flexible. She loves having conversations with the Kinder Haus kids about the most important things like favorite colors and what they see in the sky.

Ali has been working at Kinder Haus since February 2020. She spent 2 years in primary aftercare, and spent the past year working in every classroom as a floater. She is now taking over as the Bridge Lead teacher as she works on her Montessori Certification through NAMC for ages 3-6.

Ali comes from a big, close-knit family. Her childhood was always spent playing with her cousins outside. Ali took on a nurturing role to her younger cousins, even as a child. Ali was always found with a baby in her arms, and knew she wanted to work with kids one day.

As a child she was independent to almost a fault. Seeing an environment that encourages kids to be independent made her love the teaching approach just as much as she loves the kids. She loves seeing a child grow their confidence in themselves and how much they can do.

When Ali isn’t working, she is most likely traveling or planning her next trip. Her hobbies are reading, playing guitar, and hanging with her friends and family.

Melinda joined us at Kinder Haus in 2022 with 14 years of experience in education ranging from teaching Pre-k all the way to 6th grade. She spent the 2022 school year in our Preschool room.  We are excited for her to follow some of her students into the Bridge classroom. She is currently working toward her NAMC Montessori certification for birth to age 3.

Melinda is a native of East Tennessee and currently lives in Mandeville. She is happily married to her husband Jarrid and together they have 3 amazing children. Their two sons Nicholas and Triston are both in the army and their daughter Lily is in high school. Melinda loves the color green, Halloween and her birthday month: October. When she isn't at Kinder Haus you can find her spending time with her family, shopping, getting a pedicure and sleeping.

Brie is a fun-loving teacher who brings her youthful energy to the aftercare classroom. Her thoughtful and calm spirit comes naturally since she grew up sharing the stage as a triplet in a closely knit large extended family.  In her spare time, you can find her playing tennis or at the beach with her family and friends.

Annie Chernoff is so grateful to be a part of the team at this beautiful school, working with people to respect children and honor each individual’s gifts and potential. She was born in California and moved to Kansas City at age 7. In 2018, she relocated to Louisiana.

Working with children is her "ikigai": it gives her days meaning, purpose, and joy. Her experiences with young people include working as a Girl Scout camp counselor; leading art museum tours, designing corresponding curriculum, and teaching art history-inspired projects to groups of children; co-teaching a lively mixed-age classroom at a Reggio Emilia early childhood center; working as a lead teacher in a Montessori-inspired environment for two-year-olds; and creating curriculum and teaching all academic subjects as a middle school Montessori guide.

She holds a Bachelor’s in Visual Art Education from the University of Kansas. She is CLASS certified by Teachstone and working towards completing her Montessori certification in Primary and Secondary I & II through MWEI and CGMS, respectively.

Interests include thrift shopping, pub trivia, karaoke, trying new recipes, mom-and-pop restaurants, visiting state and national parks, and taking trips with her husband Will.

Cat Joined Kinder Haus in 2022. She and her partner moved to Slidell from California in July of 2022 and are familiarizing themselves with this beautiful area of Louisiana. She enjoys playing basketball, listening to new music and writing songs, playing with her puppy dog Charli, and watching sports. One of her passions is gardening and she has been enjoying sharing her love for everything green with the students! She looks forward to meeting all of the lovely families at kinderhaus and continuing to grow with our friends the Montessori way!

Celeste joined the Kinder Haus team in November 2023. She has studied Early Childhood Education as well as Art Education, and will be graduating Southeastern Louisiana University in December 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree, concentrating in Behavioral Sciences. She is also a certified yoga instructor, and loves being given the opportunity to incorporate mindfulness into the classroom and daily lives of children. Celeste currently lives in Covington, and enjoys spending time with her husband Chance, daughter Juniper, stepdaughter Juliet, and beagle Penny.

Kassady started teaching at Kinder Haus during summer camp 2019. She was a pivotal member of the Kinder Haus staff during our re-opening during the pandemic by helping to organize our drop off carline before going to her own studies for high school every morning. She just graduated and plans to attend college in the fall in Houston, TX. Her focus in college will be in education with hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher. “I love helping and working with young children, it always brightens my day.”

She has always loved to dance and was on her school's dance team. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her family and friends. Fun fact- Mrs. Tiffany, our Toddler lead teacher, is her mom!

Madisyn loves to help the children learn and grow and aspires to bring a good influence to young minds. She is a skilled artist who spent time spent studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is excited to apply her skills in all mediums of art with the children of the Primary Classroom.

Skylar began her experience with children at Knock Knock Children’s Museum where she had the opportunity to work as a Learning Zone Specialist, also called a Playworker. In this role, she worked in the many zones of the museum that modeled real-life, such as a pretend cafe, vet clinic, grocery store, and a construction zone. She loved engaging the children in imaginative play. Since then, she has completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology from LSU with a minor in French, worked at a preschool, and babysat. She adores working with kids and hopes to eventually get a Master’s in Counseling and become a child play therapist!

In her free-time, she loves reading books, listening to music, drawing, learning languages, and playing with her two dogs, Bluebelle and Honeydew.  

Linden has been working in Montessori schools as an assistant teacher, and now as after care teacher, since 2015. She loves the Montessori philosophy and loves Kinder Haus the most, and plans on getting her Montessori Teaching License next year. She is currently in school earning my degree in Early Childhood Education. Since she was 16, she has worked in elementary schools, preschools, on organic farms and with small restaurants providing healthy and locally sourced foods. She is passionate about local foods, sustainable living, weird holidays, and education for all. She currently lives in Lacombe with her dog and cat in a very strange house that she is in the middle of remodeling. 

She moved to Louisiana from South Carolina, where she ran her own small "urban farm" complete with a flock of poultry, a greenhouse, a compost and worm-casting system, vegetable beds, and some fruit trees. In SC she played Roller Derby for the local team, but when it felt like it was time to relocate, she moved as close to New Orleans as possible to try out for the Big Easy Roller Girls. Before the pandemic, she was rostered to the All Star Team and very much look forward to going back when it is safe again. For now, she enjoys skating outside and spending time with her teammates over Zoom. She says, "I am so happy to be here and part of the Kinder Haus team!"

Morgan started her journey in childcare and at Kinder Haus Montessori in May of 2021 as an Aftercare/Substitute Teacher. She was born in Mandeville, Louisiana and grew up in New Orleans where she graduated from Cabrini High School in 2019 as Magna Cum Laude. She is currently going into her third year of college studying Social Studies Education at Southeastern Louisiana University and has dreams to become a high school history teacher. On the side, she enjoys doing makeup, exploring new places and restaurants, and is an avid documentary watcher. She loves spending time with family and friends and hopes to travel to all 50 states one day!

Kinder Haus Montessori has brought out the best side of her, and she cannot wait to learn more about Montessori education as the school year continues. She has always had a passion for caring for people but did not expect to love working with young children so much! She’s beyond grateful for this opportunity and everyone that she has met working at Kinder Haus! She cannot wait to see where this journey leads her and is excited to be a part of the Kinder Haus Family!

Merhawit grew up in Ethiopia Africa. When she was 8 years old she was adopted by her family and moved to the United States. She has spent the last 10 years enjoying the local cuisine, spending time outdoors in the sun, hanging out with her friends and traveling the world. In 2015 she had the opportunity to return to her roots in Ethiopia to see her family who are still there. It was an amazing trip and a pivotal moment in her life. Merhawit joins the toddler room daily in the afternoons when she is done with her own studies. She shares with us her caring heart, her playful spirit and her grasp on youth. In the future she plans on attending college and major in Radiology. 

"I'm proud to be a teacher at Kinder Haus and very excited to get to know your babies and watch them learn and grow!" Tarian joined the Kinder Haus team from a traditional childcare background. She is currently pursuing her degree in early childhood education at Southeastern University.

Cindy absolutely loves being around children.  She spends as much time as possible with her adorable 2 1/2 year old granddaughter Josie. Josie enjoys going to a Montessori school in Baton Rouge, where she is always learning new things, singing new songs and telling stories of her day. Ms. Cindy was born in Baton Rouge and now lives in Madisonville.  She has a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University, where most of her courses were in Psychology and Sociology.

When not spending time with her Granddaughter, her interests include, gardening, arts and crafts, taking walks and visiting with friends and family.