meet the women behind minerva

Our story starts on Minerva Ave, with a mom and a dad who lived in their first home with their two young kids. During one of their walks through Culver City, a little girl, too lazy to walk, and her younger brother, sat in a stroller when the family walked past an empty lot. This was the moment Yazmin, a mother and preschool educator, decided to make her dream of opening her own school a reality.

Months later, that lot blossomed into what is now LA’s leading language immersion preschool, Culver City Montessori. On the heels of 25 years of infrastructure, programming, and reliability, Yazmin and her daughter, Shaneel (yes, I'm stroller girl), present the next phase: Minerva School.

We believe in a simple truth: children are natural learners. They are wired for curiosity, capable of complex thought, and primed to absorb language and culture from the moment they’re born. However, most early education programs weren’t built with this reality in mind. We knew there had to be a better way.

Throughout our years in education, we noticed that many great early childhood programs were limited by the spaces they were built in — ours included. Preschools have numerous operating and zoning requirements which limits ownership opportunities, program development and overall growth. By building our own dedicated learning space, we now have the ability to upgrade our facilities as education continues to evolve; reducing cluttered spaces, old infrastructure, and lack of innovation to benefit who matters the most – your children.

Every feature built both inside and out of our newly constructed facility, was meticulously chosen to emphasize elevated learning, stimulate creativity and nurture curiosity while prioritizing safety and security.

We trust that they are ready for challenge, capable of complexity, and deserving of an environment that respects their minds, hearts, and potential. We provide more than care, we provide intention. More than exposure, we provide immersion. More than learning, we foster lasting mastery. Children aren’t too young for deep learning, they’re perfectly ready for it. 

At Minerva, we’re creating that future every day. Our vision is to raise a generation of culturally aware, confident learners who are academically prepared, emotionally grounded, and curious about the world around them. Thriving in tomorrow’s world starts with how we teach them today.