Janelle Ledesma

Janelle was born and raised in the Bay Area. She is the first generation to grow up in the United States. Her appreciation for education started at a young age, as she watched her mother complete her high school and college education while speaking little to no English. Education was not as accessible to her mother in the part of Mexico where she grew up and knowing this gave Janelle an impression as to how valuable education was. As she worked on her degree in nursing at Contra Costa College, she began working in an elementary after school program in Richmond, CA. She worked with second graders in an ESL program. Watching the children learn and grow inspired her. She was so moved by the students that she

changed her degree and graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Science in Family and Human Development. Although Janelle knew her place was to teach, she felt that in a traditional educational setting, the needs of children were not always being met. She set out to find the missing piece and discovered it in the Montessori pedagogy. Through her exploration in Montessori education, she has worked in infant, toddler and primary classes, but fell in love with working with elementary aged children. Janelle completed her AMI elementary training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In her spare time, Janelle loves to hike, read, cook, and spend time with her family and friends.