Signe Castañeda

Head of School

Signe is an AMI Montessori trained elementary teacher. She has been working with children most of her adult life.

Signe was raised in the San Joaquin Valley where she learned to love farming, nature and the splendor of God’s creation. She ran cross-country competitively throughout high school and in college at San Diego State where she received her B.S. in English Literature.

Soon after she graduated from college, she began her work with children through an inner city after-school program for at-risk youth in Northwest Pasadena. She went on to have six children of her own and has seen first-hand the uniqueness of each child.

With a desire to understand how to best educate children, she began her formal Montessori training. She received her AMI Montessori Elementary Teaching Certificate from the Montessori Institute of San Diego.

Looking for a school that would meet the educational and spiritual needs of families in North County San Diego, she decided to start Coastal Sage Montessori. Believing deeply in the power of investing in children and in community, Coastal Sage Montessori was birthed.