Meet Leslie Hites:TRS Founder and Head of School

Born in Colombia, Leslie spent a good part of her childhood and adolescence in Italy with a three year interlude in Washington DC and Chile. From Rome, she moved to Belgium where she studied communication at the Université de Louvain.

After moving to the United States, while searching for the best education that would allow her six children to develop their potential, Leslie came upon the work of Dr. Maria Montessori. Since then, she has dedicated her life to studying Montessori, teaching in Montessori environments and as administrator of The Renaissance School, a Montessori school that is the only genuine tri-lingual Montessori school in the United States. The school has a language immersion program in which students are instructed by native speakers in French, English and Spanish. Lessons are given in both English and the other languages.

Leslie is a parent educator and coach as well as a trainer for the International Network of Children and Families. She regularly teaches an eight-week Redirecting Children’s Behavior course to Bay Area parents.

She serves on the Board of Trustees for The NewGate-Field School, a model school of the Montessori Foundation in Sarasota, Florida, and is also on the Board of the International Montessori Council.

Leslie lives in Oakland, California with her husband and enjoys traveling to visit her six children and eleven grandchildren who live around the world.