Local Alumni Come Full Circle to Work at Their Former Schools

Some of the adults your child meets here played on these same grounds as children. Noozhawk's story about teachers who came home to their old schools includes two of ours: our Head of School, Brian Cogswell, and Leah, our Primary Lead Guide.

Brian went to elementary school on our campus

Brian grew up in Santa Barbara and attended the elementary grades at El Rancho School, which is now our campus. He went on to UCLA, then traveled and lived overseas while building a career in the hotel industry. He came back to his hometown looking for a new challenge, and it found him through his daughters' Montessori school.

During winter break in December 2016, that school announced it was closing. Parents rallied to create a new school, South Coast Montessori, and Brian agreed to serve as Head of School. He joined the teachers in working without pay until things were organized. He told Noozhawk he fell in love with working for a nonprofit, where every effort goes back into the school.

The irony of being back is not lost on him. He had his first kiss in fifth grade, on the field behind what is now his office. “After having worked in five countries on four continents in my career, I feel like I am home now,” he said.

Leah always wanted to teach Primary

Leah also attended this campus as a child, from 18 months to 12 years old. “My dream as a little girl was to be a primary Montessori teacher,” she said. She trained at the Washington Montessori Institute and lived and worked in other parts of the United States. Then she came home to Santa Barbara to start a family, and she wanted her child at this school.

With no teaching position open, she became a full-time realtor. One night in the summer of 2016, she realized something was missing. The next day she emailed the head of school, who had been her own elementary Montessori teacher, and asked about coming back. That fall she was given a Primary classroom, in the same year her son was in sixth grade at the school.

Noozhawk's story also follows teachers who returned to two other Santa Barbara schools.

Read the full story at Noozhawk, opens in a new tab