Ana Toba, Head Teacher 

Ms. Ana was born and raised in San Diego, California near to Tijuana, Mexico. When I was a kid I always enjoyed playing with my sister pretending that she was my teacher and I was her student. One time I went to help her at her job ( Scripps Montessori School) and I was impressed on how the children were working and all the amazing things they could do by themselves. I started working there during the after care and then realized that I was eager to learn more about the Montessori method. 

In 2014 I graduated from AMI Montessori training at Montessori institute of San Diego. It was then that I started working as an Assistant Teacher for 4 years and learned a lot from an incredible Head Teacher. During this time, I had the opportunity to come to San Francisco to work for whole summer at LePort Schools.  I went back to San Diego and worked at the same school for another school year. Then, I got a surprise call from my sister inviting me to be part of her new school Cielito Lindo Montessori and what was meant to be one year stay turned out to be more than that. The experience of being in a small community and in a Spanish speaking environment has been incredible, I can’t wait to see what my 5th year here will bring.

Karla Gutierrez-Ruiz, Assistant Teacher

Karla Gutierrez-Ruiz was born in Inglewood, CA and grew up around an amazing community that helped influence her love for teaching. Almost five years ago, she moved from her home to attend San Francisco State University to earn a degree that would help her combat the issues her community faced. Here, she found a passion for early education and in bilingual environments. Karla has held her passion throughout the years and worked in programs like Jumpstart that allowed her to work in low-income communities. She has worked in a variety of preschools and is continuing her journey of becoming a well-rounded early educator. It’s assuring to her to know that she’s found a field that she loves and also reminds her everyday that she is helping the world be a better place. Karla is happy to be a part of the Cielito Lindo team and hopes to only keep growing as an educator surrounded by other amazing teachers. She also is still attending her last year of school and looking forward to applying her knowledge in the classroom. 

On her own time, Karla is reconnecting with their Oaxacan culture as it has impacted her so much during her childhood. She loves hearing stories from her parents and recreating traditional dishes. She also enjoys taking care of her plants, writing poetry, and practicing self care.

Melanie Arango, Assistant Teacher

My name is Melanie Arango. I was born and raised in Salinas, California. I moved to Sacramento for school and graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 2021. I received my Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology. After graduating, I started working at a company as a Behavior Technician. I worked one on one with children on the spectrum and with a variety of different learning disabilities to work on behavior reductions, social skills and individual learning plans. I worked with kiddos at their homes, our clinics and at school settings. I quickly discovered how much more I enjoyed working with children at school settings. I established strong relationships with not only my individual kiddos but with the rest of the students in the class. I also just recently moved to San Francisco this past July. I am very eager and excited to meet everybody and be part of the Cielito Lindo Montessori team!