MKU Leander Team

Meet Our Team

Montessori Kids Universe Leander recognizes that our caring, dedicated teachers are what makes our school so valuable. MKU Leander 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!

Arathi Vittal

School Owner & Primary Lead Guide

Arathi Vittal is passionate about Montessori education with several years of experience in setting up Montessori environments and teaching. She enjoys being a part of the Montessori movement which aids in creating the child’s personality using a holistic approach and helps them develop a lifelong love for learning. She has her Montessori training from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). She has rich experience working in the Greater New York area. She has helped setting up new Montessori school ground up from setting up a classroom, helping identify key areas that require training and curriculum planning for enrichment. She loves traveling, cooking and volunteering at her sons’ school.

Education, Licenses & Certifications:

Childcare Administrator credential, Texas Director
Montessori Applied to Children at Risk (MACAR))
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Primary Diploma
Bachelor of Arts (Sociology, Economics and Industrial Relations)

Ms. Christie

Director

Ms. Christie has more than 20 years of experience in Early Childhood Education and Management. She was the Owner/Director of a licensed childcare center that served children and families in the Gulf Coast region for more than 15 years. She believes that children are the foundation of our future and is very passionate about providing the very best care and education for each individual child. Ms. Christie recognizes the vital role teachers play in a child’s early years and will do everything in her capacity to support them in the classrooms. She is the mom of four boys, the youngest being special needs. She has five grandchildren that call her CiCi. Ms. Christie loves working on her farm taking care of the animals, she loves spending time with family and going on endless adventures.

Lizzette Fernandez

Infant Lead Teacher

Miss Lizzy was born and raised in Miami, FL and comes from a large, loving Cuban-Italian family. She enjoys listening to lots of different music, playing pool, gardening, fall time, cooking, and going for adventurous walks with her family. Since she got her first job at the age of 14 she has always worked helping others. That love turned into a passion where after high school she went on to graduate from the Fire Academy, became an EMT, and later a nurse. After working as a nurse for over 10 years, Ms. Lizzy got married, moved to Austin, TX and then later became pregnant and had her daughter. Ms. Lizzy found Montessori in the last months of her pregnancy and quickly realized her husband and she aligned with so many parts of the Montessori way of life so they incorporated more of it. Being able to help children and their families learn and grow is a privilege she gets to experience everyday with these “new tiny humans’’. The cherry on top is being able to grow as a Montessori teacher and expand her knowledge in this beautiful practice of caring for each individual child.