Meet the Team - Main Campus

Ali has been working at Kinder Haus since February 2020. She spent 2 years in primary aftercare, now she is the main campus aftercare manager. She spends 2 days a week in the classroom as a floater as well. 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.

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.

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.

Melinda joins us at Kinder Haus with 14 years of experience in education ranging from early childhood education to teaching ages Pre-k all the way to 6th grade. She is a native of East Tennessee but 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 highschool. 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.

Lora was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has resided most of her life in Louisiana. She has a Bachlors degree in Art Education from SLU. Her other studies have included photography, film, graphic design, psychology and biology.

Her introduction to the Montessori Method was when her daughter attended University Montessori in Hammond. Impressed with the school and the education of her child, she started substitute teaching at the school. She also spent time as an art teacher during summer camp at the YMCA. She is looking forward to furthering her Montessori education.

In her free time, Lora enjoys volunteering with START (St Tammany Animal Rescue Team), making art out of found objects and exploring the world with her daughter.

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. 

 “It is such a joy working at Kinder Haus, from watching the kids grow each day to the amazing staff that is always so willing to help each other. Even though I am there to help teach the kids I have also learned a lot from them as well.”

Kelly is a senior at southeastern majoring in psychology with the hopes of one day becoming a therapist for children. When she is not at school or work she enjoys reading, being outdoors, and spending time with family, friends and her cat.

Ava Moved from the south shore to attend the school on the North shore. She joined us at Kinder Haus in the preschool room in 2022. She loves to do hands on activities, arts and crafts and play outdoors with the kids. In her spare time, she enjoys playing basketball, shopping with friends and spending time with her family.

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!

Peaceful Mrs. Meghan Maier is our 3-6 Language Arts and Practical Life teacher. Meghan has worked in childcare almost her entire working life. She assisted at University Montessori in New Orleans as a teenager and at a small preschool in Midcity while attending college. In an attempt to defy fate, she worked at a Metairie Hair salon for three years after college before realizing nothing could fill her heart like working with children and returned to childcare as our Toddler assistant teacher in 2014. Since then, she has spent time working in every single classroom at Kinder Haus.

She has two children who attend Kinder Haus. Nico, 5, is finishing up the Kindergarten program in the Primary classroom this year and Zyleigh, 2, recently started in the Preschool classroom. She also has a daughter, Ivy, 13, that attends a Junior High School. As a mother of three she is practiced in the art of being kind, calm, empathetic, and firm.

She graduated from Tulane University with a degree in English Literature in 2011 and received her Montessori 0-3 certification with NAMC in 2016. Although she is already familiar with the 3-6 Montessori curriculum, she will soon be certified in 3-6 and is currently working on a Professional Development Certificate in Montessori fundamentals through CGMS to get her started.

In her free time, Meghan enjoys reading, trying to keep her indoor plants alive, and drawing (before she had children). In the future she hopes to fill her time with more education/childcare courses as well as a pottery class or two. 

Mrs. Taylor began her career in early childhood education working in a multiage childcare facility with with babies as young as six weeks old and children as old as 13. It was during her 3 years there that she realized the power and benefit of the older children helping to model for the younger ones. Her path to immersing herself in the Montessori Method began when she joined us here at Kinder Haus Montessori in 2016. Her first position in the school was in the Preschool room where she was eventually promoted to be the Preschool team Lead teacher. She worked in that classroom for four years refining her knowledge by completing her Birth to Three year old Montessori Certification (August of 2017) from North American Montessori Center.  In 2020 she took over as the Primary Team Lead Teacher with a focus on Math, Sensorial, Cultural Arts and Science. She is extremely creative, friendly, and her positive energy contagiously spreads throughout the entire classroom. Currently she is in the process of completing her three to six year old Montessori Certification through North American Montessori Center. When not at Kinder Haus and not studying for her certification, Taylor spends time with her husband Zach and her 2 year old son Zachary. They are also expecting their second child at the end of summer 2021. 

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!"

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.

 “Tiffy” began her journey with Kinder Haus in February 2015. She started as an assistant teacher in the toddler classroom and soon after was offered the lead position where she remained until July of 2022 when our toddler room transferred over to the NIDO school. Tiffany is now the lead of our Bridge classroom for 2-3 year children. When asked what she loves most about her job she said, “Children are amazing human beings who are not given the credit or respect that they deserve. 80% of what we will learn in life is learned in the first 3 years and that’s where education for life should begin. What I love is having the privilege to be a part of those first years.”

She says that she knew as a young child that she wanted to be a teacher and would often play “school” with her stuffed animals and dolls. In 1998, as a senior in high school, she enrolled in a class that allowed her to be an assistant to a 1st-grade teacher at a local elementary, and that is where her teaching career began. In the years since she has studied education at SELU and had the opportunity to teach various grades before finding her niche here at KHM. She is certified in birth - 3 years through NAMC and is currently enrolled in master’s classes at CGMS for her MACTE degree in birth - 3 years.

When not at work she can usually be found at home working in the yard, practicing her crocheting skills, or taking care of her plants. She enjoys spending her downtime with her husband, their blended bunch of 6, and family.

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!

Sharon was born in South Africa, raised in Canada, and is of Indian heritage.  Growing up she spent a lot of time with younger cousins, nieces and nephews, and babysat for many children during high school.  She became a mother in 2010.  She was introduced to Montessori through various friends and relatives and decided to enroll her daughter in a Montessori preschool program.  Through that experience, she saw how the method prepares children to be social, observant, independent learners.

After leaving a 20 year career as a pharmacist, she was looking for something fun with a flexible schedule to occupy some time. Last summer she started helping with summer camp at Kinder Haus and stayed on a substitute teacher.  She enjoys spending time with the children as they grow and learn.

Stephanie Welch is an enthusiastic substitute teacher for all the classrooms at Kinder Haus and instructor of Earth Science at Southeastern Louisiana University. Her relationship with Kinder Haus started in 2015 when her son Felix was enrolled in the preschool program - she quickly realized that this school, with it's wonderful supportive group of teachers, staff, and parents was going to be an important part of her life as well as her children's. Now Felix is in the virtual class and her daughter Iris is in Primary. Stephanie and occasionally her husband Vann enjoy bringing their experience in science education to the young minds at Kinder Haus Montessori.