Fana Takahashi
Elementary Level Coordinator
After completing college, Fana discovered Montessori as a teacher in an early childhood classroom. She was immediately convinced by the method and trained with Authentic Institute of Montessori in Early Childhood and Elementary I.
She also holds a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and a B.S. in Education K-8 from Montana State University.
Fana has always had a passion for teaching and has been in a Montessori classroom since 2015. Before joining AIM full-time this June she taught Lower Elementary Classroom in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In her free time, Fana enjoys traveling the world, surfing, hiking, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Heidi Tussing
Early Childhood & Elementary
Heidi grew up in Lincoln, NE but lived in multiple states before settling in her current location of Helena, MT. Heidi has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Wyoming. She spent many years as a child and family social worker as well as teaching social work students before finding Montessori when researching preschool options for her daughter. This discovery led to her own Montessori journey.
She completed her EC Montessori certification in Kalispell, MT in 2009 and worked in several Montessori preschools in Helena. She was the teacher for the first ever public Montessori preschool in Montana which was funded by the MT Legislature. She went on to obtain her Elementary I certification from Authentic Institute of Montessori and taught a lower Elementary class at a private Montessori school in Helena. Heidi currently is a substitute teacher for the public elementary Montessori teachers.
Heidi, her three children (2 of them adults) and husband love to spend time in Montana’s beautiful outdoors skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and sometimes relaxing in a hammock.
