Ana Karen Toba,  Director

Ms. Ana was born and raised in San Diego, California, near the Tijuana, Mexico border. Her love for Montessori began while visiting her sister at Scripps Montessori School, where she was inspired by the children’s independence, confidence, and abilities. She soon began working in the school’s after-care program and quickly realized she wanted to learn more about the Montessori method.

In 2014, Ms. Ana completed her AMI Montessori training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. She spent the following years working as an Assistant Teacher, learning from an incredible Head Teacher and gaining valuable experience. She also had the opportunity to spend a summer working at LePort Schools in San Francisco.

A few years later, her sister, Ms. Toba, invited her to join Cielito Lindo Montessori School. What was originally meant to be a one-year adventure has now become eight wonderful years. During this time, Ms. Ana has grown both personally and professionally and is especially grateful for everything she has learned from Ms. Toba and the Cielito Lindo community.

Now, as Head of School, Ms. Ana is excited to begin a new chapter in her Montessori journey. She looks forward to supporting the children, teachers, and families while continuing to learn, grow, and help Cielito Lindo thrive.

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!