Our Staff

Introducing Our Wonderful and Gifted Team of Educators

Manisha Khadse is the Daisy Community Guide. She has been the Daisy Community Guide at MSOC since 2010. She plays a dual role at our school as owner and teacher. Her passion for Montessori education drew her to become the proud owner of the Montessori School of Cumming and run it as an Authentic Montessori School. She is one of the most patient and pleasant personalities you'll ever meet, perfectly suited to guide our young toddlers. In 2007, she finished her AMI Montessori Aid to Infancy Training (ages 0-3) at the Montessori Institute of Atlanta, and she has been teaching toddlers ever since. In 2018, Manisha also finished her AMI Diploma in Primary education. In addition to these diplomas, she possess a Bachelor's degree in Physics. She and her husband are raising their two beautiful children just a mile from the school. Her son currently attends the elementary program of the school, and her daughter, who attended our elementary program as well, is currently at UGA.

Ms. Manisha
Daisy Toddler Guide
Owner

Lisa Bartels is the Administrator at MSOC. Lisa has been at MSOC since 2009. She has held every position at MSOC and is always eager to help. She was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and spent her childhood in Puerto Rico, Panama, and Florida. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Biological Anthropology, she moved to Georgia and began working for the MSOC as our Aftercare Lead and assisting in our primary and elementary classrooms. She and her husband welcomed a baby girl, Fallon, in 2014, and she took time off to focus on raising her daughter. With her daughter of age to join the toddler community, Ms. Lisa rejoined our staff as the toddler room assistant in January 2016, and is currently serving as our Administrator. She has since welcomed a son, Chandler, who started at MSOC in 2017. She enjoys the outdoors, health and wellness, and games.

Ms. Lisa
Administrator

Ms. Rashmi is the Hummingbird Classroom Guide. She has been the Hummingbird classroom Guide at MSOC since 2014. She moved to the United States with her husband in 2007, where she worked as a teacher with children who could not otherwise afford preschool. Rashmi is from Mumbai, India and has a BS in Bio-Technology. In 2009-2010, she completed her AMI Primary training. Rashmi has worked as a primary teacher in Atlanta prior to joining our family. Rashmi has two beautiful children. She loves to read and especially enjoys sewing and music, which she shares readily with the children. She made her first quilt for her son before he was born.

Ms. Rashmi
Hummingbird Primary Guide

Christy McKnight is the Cardinal Classroom Guide. She began at the MSOC in 2011, with a few years sprinkled that she needed for time away. Ms. Christy completed her AMI training in 2010 and taught at MSOC for 2 years as a primary guide before accepting the role of school administrator (2015-2021). She is happy to be back at MSOC to teaching in the Cardinal primary classroom. Christy enjoys hiking, spoiling her 3 rescue dogs, traveling with her husband, spending family time with her three grown sons, and continuing to learn various methods to support the phenomenal work of Maria Montessori.

Ms. Christy
Cardinal Primary Guide

Mukta Gadgil is the Nebulae Elementary Classroom Guide. She has been an assistant in the Nebulae classroom since 2020, and has worked with the Montessori School of Cumming since 2019. She first came to the United States in 2010 with her husband and eldest son. She has a BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) degree and practiced for 2 years. She took a big break from the professional industry after having her second child to focus on her family. After becoming ready to join the work force again, Mukta found herself at the Montessori School of Cumming as a substitute, and quickly developed a love for the Montessori method and community. She was fascinated by the Montessori principles and their application, and was amazed by the discipline the children showed in the classroom. Mukta quickly found herself in the AMI 6-12 elementary training, and is excited to share her new and fresh learnings with the students. She loves being in the classroom and offering her passion and love of learning to the students. Mukta enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

Ms. Mukta
Nebula Elementary Guide

Merzia Ali is the Daisy Toddler Classroom Assistant. She has been at the MSOC since 2019. Merzia has over four years of experience working with toddlers. She began her working career in Karachi, Pakistan after completing her certification in Montessori teaching. She then continued it in Columbus, Ohio before moving to the Atlanta metropolitan area. She loves to be in the company of toddlers and young children, giving her the opportunity to apply her learnings and skills. Merzia loves to play board games with her family and enjoys music.

Ms. Merzia
Daisy Toddler Assistant

Sumitha Jeevarathinam is a substitute at the MSOC. She began at the MSOC in 2021. Sumitha has previously worked as a Teacher's Aide at Martinson Child Development Center in Santa Clara, CA, and a Teacher & After School Coordinator at Little Elly School in Bangalore, India. Sumitha completed her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Education degrees as part of her education. Her passion for teaching and nurturing young students led her to our community where she is a frequent substitute. Sumitha has found a growing love for Montessori and its impact on the lives of children. She loves spending time with her 2 children, Raksshan and Laksita, her husband, and her dog named Rocky. Her time is also spent supporting her daughter with her amazing gymanstics career. She values cultures and traditions that different people represent.

Ms. Sumitha
Cardinal Assistant

Swarna Gopalakrishnan is the aftercare teacher for our primary and elementary aged students. She began at the MSOC in 2022. Her and her husband recently moved from Omaha, NE to Georgia. She has two daughters, both working, in Chicago and Minneapolis. She has a Bichon named Snowball who is queen of the household. Swarna loves cooking, baking, yoga, reading, gardening, and traveling. She has always volunteered in many organizations like the Children’s hospital for over a decade. Swarna likes to contribute her time to either the family or community where help is needed to take care of children. Like the Irish saying goes, "I wish my home is always too small to hold all my friends." Swarna is very excited and motivated to bring her loves and interests into the Montessori aftercare program and develop a beautiful program that supports the Montessori methods and promotes each child's love of learning. It is beautiful to watch how her efforts spark an interest in her students to learn more and explore many possibilities.

Ms. Sawrna
Primary/Elementary Aftercare Lead

Ms. Ramya
Primary/Elementary Aftercare Assistant

Eugenia "Nena" Alarcon is a Spanish teacher. She began at the MSOC in 2002 and taught for ten years before taking a break from our community. She returned to teach Spanish in 2022. Nena moved from Columbia in 1979 with her family. In 1984, she was accredited as an AMI Montessori guide and worked as a guide for many years until her move to Nicaragua with her husband. In Nicaragua, she worked as a preschool teacher in a bilingual school teaching English as a second language. In 2002, she moved back to Georgia and had the opportunity to create a Spanish program for children. Her passion for teaching Spanish as a second language and her Montessori training helped her create a program based on fun activities, hands on material, and music.

Ms. Nena
Spanish Teacher
and Substitute

Kyungsoo "Soo" Jang is our Music teacher. She began at the MSOC in 2022. She was born and raised in South Korea. She has been teaching preschool for many years and loves this age because of their endless curiosity. Ms. Soo earned both AMI and AMS certifications right after graduating from college in South Korea. Soo loves sharing her special skills in art and music, and has blessed our community with an afterschool art class and a music special for our elementary students. Soo has a loving family that supports each other's endeavors and hobbies which usually revolve around the arts. She enjoys cooking, singing, watching movies, and spending time with her family.

Ms. Soo
Art and Music Teacher
and Substitute