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Montessori Kids Universe Homewood recognizes that our caring, dedicated teachers are what makes our school so valuable. MKU Homewood recruits and maintains a high-quality staff through an intensive selection and vetting process. We provide on-going professional development and growth opportunities within our school, and foster a healthy work environment for our employees. Meet the most important aspect of our school: Our quality teaching staff!
Jason and Kimberly McDougall are the owners of Montessori Kids Universe in Homewood, Alabama. They have three beautiful little girls who are current students at MKU Homewood. Their children are the love of their lives and when they decided to give up their careers they wanted to do something that would allow them to spend more time with them and make sure they had the best start in life. Jason and Kimberly both believe in the Montessori teaching method as Jason started his education at Sunrise Montessori in Citrus Heights, CA. We have witnessed our daughters firsthand grow with the MKU program and turn into sweet, independent and strong little girls.
Kimberly McDougall graduated from Hoover High School in 2000 and from the University of Alabama in 2004 with a degree in Telecommunication and Film. She started her professional career as a news reporter and anchor for WVUA 7 news in Tuscaloosa. She then went on to work for CBS 42 news in Birmingham before finding her way FOX 40 News in Sacramento, CA. It’s there that she met her best friend and now husband. In 2014 they welcomed their first daughter and it wasn’t long after that Jason and Kimberly decided they wanted to move back to Alabama and open a state of the art Montessori preschool that would not only challenge our daughter but inspire her to find a love of learning. Kimberly love’s coming to work every day and seeing all the bright and smiley faces ready to learn and have fun. Outside of work, Kimberly loves spending time with family, rooting on her beloved Crimson Tide and playing with her girls at the park.
Jason McDougall was born in Sacramento, CA and is an identical twin. After receiving a job promotion, Jason’s father moved his family to Redmond, Washington in 1994. It’s there where Jason graduated from Redmond High School and eventually earned a degree in Business from Washington State University in 2002. Jason then moved back to California where he began a career in property management. Over the course of thirteen years with the same company, he held numerous positions where he gained knowledge in all aspects of business ranging from accounting to acquisitions. He knew with his business experience and his wife’s communications and sales experience that they would be a great business team. Kim and Jason are so happy to have discovered the Montessori Kids Universe Franchise and to have opened the first MKU in the State of Alabama. Aside from work Jason is a huge football fan and loves boating, camping and fly fishing. Most importantly he loves hanging out with his wife and three daughters!
Jan is the Head of School at MKU Homewood. She is from a small town in West Virginia and comes from a family of seven children. Jan moved to Alabama to work as a Space Camp Counselor at the U. S. Space and Rocket Center in 2001. After falling in love with teaching children, Ms. Jan changed her college studies from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to Elementary Education. She earned her degree from Athens State University in 2008. Before teaching preschool, Ms. Jan taught elementary and middle school students at a small private school in Huntsville. She has worked with ESL (English as a Second Language) students, children with Selective Mutism, and those who are hearing and visually impaired. After living in Fort Lauderdale for almost a year, Ms. Jan and her family moved to Birmingham. She has been working at MKU since it first opened in 2017 and received her Montessori certification that same year. Ms. Jan has earned an International Montessori Teaching Diploma from the North American Montessori Center’s Early Childhood Teacher Training Program for ages three to six years. She has also earned her Montessori Teaching Certificate for ages birth to three years from the Montessori Kids Universe Training Institute. Ms. Jan has been married to Mr. Bryan for 14 years and together they have two children.
Julia is originally from Los Angeles, California, but moved to Birmingham as a child and grew up in the metro area. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in Psychology with a focus in Child Psychology. Before becoming a Montessori teacher, Julia helped run an afterschool care program within the Shelby County public school system for ten years. After getting married and deciding to start a family, she changed careers and fell in love with the Montessori way of teaching. She taught for two years as a Montessori teacher, before coming to MKU in 2018. Julia completed her Montessori Teaching Certificate from the MKU Training Institute-Montessori Early Childhood Education Program. She and her husband have been married for 10 years and have two children.
Ms. Casey is one of our Casa Lead Teachers for MKU Homewood. She is also the Lead Teacher for the afternoon Da Vinci Kids program. Ms. Casey is from the Birmingham area and attended college at the University of Montevallo where she graduated with honors. She earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Art with a concentration in Painting and also won several art awards while attending college. Ms. Casey has completed her International Montessori Teaching Diploma from the North American Montessori Center for children ages three to six years old. Ms. Casey is married to her husband Jon and they have a little boy who attended school here at MKU before going to Kindergarten. Ms. Casey enjoys gardening and teaching the children about botany. She also has a passion for developing early reading skills with her students and ensuring that they are ready for Kindergarten in the public school system when they leave her classroom. Ms. Casey has been with MKU Homewood since the school opened in 2017.
Hannah has over ten years of experience working with and caring for children. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall of 2010 with a degree in Social Work. She started teaching preschool after college and fell in love with it. Hannah has previously worked at two Birmingham area preschools and taught various age groups. She was also the Lead teacher of her own classroom for five years. Ms. Hannah has a passion for working with preschool age children and helping them learn and develop. She has now been the Office Administrator at MKU Homewood for the last three years and has loved getting to know all the wonderful families there. In her spare time, Ms. Hannah loves to watch movies, attend concerts, read, and spend time with her family and friends.
Ms. Kat grew up right here in Birmingham, AL and graduated from the University of Alabama in 2018 with a degree in elementary and early childhood education. During her undergraduate career, Ms. Kat traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy, to study the educational approach that inspired our DaVinci Kids program. She has a passion for whole-child education and has worked as an after school care assistant, a summer camp cabin counselor + arts and crafts director, a summer learning reading teacher + chess coach, and a nanny. She was the assistant teacher in Casa della Pace from spring 2021-summer 2022 and is now the lead teacher for Casa dell’Amore—the House of Love! When not at school, Ms. Kat enjoys hiking, swimming in the Cahaba River, going to Birmingham Legion FC games, and playing roller derby with the Tragic City Rollers. Ms. Kat lives in Homewood with her wife Jess, and they have three rambunctious kitties and a puppy together.
Ms. Maya has been passionate about education for a long time. She excelled in academia, earning the title of valedictorian and Gates Millenium Scholar. Before working at MKU Homewood, Maya spent her career as a 7th grade science teacher and a summer enrichment counselor. She has enjoyed teaching children about the life sciences and the wonders of reading and writing. However, traditional education lacked the freedom of learning that Montessori offers. Now, she enjoys taking her students outside to learn in the garden to observe plants and common insects. She also engages in structured activities that often include sensory play like water beads, building materials, magnets, and modeling dough. Teaching through art, nature, and social studies is her newfound passion.
When coming home from work, Maya enjoys writing or drawing on the back porch while watching her hound mix run around. Sometimes she’ll dabble in watercolor or work on a new textile hobby like crocheting. She often watches action, horror, documentaries, or true crime content with her partner to wind down before bed.
Ms. Briana has lived in the Birmingham area since birth. She graduated from Spain Park High School and began pursuing a degree in Nursing at Jefferson State Community College. Bree has a four year old daughter who is the main reason for her shift in careers. Briana has worked in after school programs and started her Montessori career at MKU Hoover. While working at MKU, Brianna found a passion for working with children. She is currently working to earn her Montessori certification with Montessori Kids Universe Training Institute. Briana is also attending college for her associates degree in business.
Ms. Darling is from Cali, Colombia. She graduated from high school in Colombia and studied to be a Bilingual Secretary. Darling moved to the United States in 2006. She has been taking care of children for more than 15 years now. She has always enjoyed teaching, especially arts and crafts, music, singing and dancing. Ms. Darling and her husband have five children, two of which attend MKU Homewood. Ms. Darling loves the Montessori philosophy and environment for her young children. She has trained with a couple of Montessori certified teachers during her time at MKU. Ms. Darling is currently enrolled in the Montessori Kids Universe Training Institute to earn her own Montessori certification for children up to 3 years of age.
Ms. Bri is the Lead of our Infant classroom. She is from the Birmingham area and has worked with children for most of her life. Ms. Bri has worked at MKU since the fall of 2021. She has helped out in a few classrooms, but loves to work with our youngest friends. Ms. Bri completed her Montessori Certification in March of 2024. She is certified through the Montessori Kids Universe Training Institute to teach children ages birth to three years old.
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