A school where everyone knows your child’s name.

Founded in 2011, we’ve grown around one simple belief: every child deserves an environment that respects their pace, nurtures their curiosity, and builds their confidence.

Today, 2 to 12 year olds grow here together. In the same building, with the same team.


Our story

Parents and educators came together over a decade ago with one conviction: school should be a place where children thrive, not one they dread.
Over the years, the project took root. The team stabilized, the building evolved, and the families became a real community.
We are an independent, secular school, open to all. Regularly inspected by the French national education authority, and in close contact with local academic services.

« La prise en compte individuelle de l’enfant occupe une place centrale dans la pédagogie mise en œuvre. Une attention forte est portée au ressenti des émotions individuelles et à leur verbalisation. Le projet pédagogique de l’école repose sur le développement chez l’enfant de la responsabilité, du sens de l’engagement et de l’initiative. Ce qui a pu être observé pour tous les enfants des ambiances de 3 à 12 ans »

In English: “Each child is treated as an individual at the heart of the teaching approach. Strong attention is given to emotional awareness and its expression. The school’s educational project is built around developing responsibility, commitment, and initiative in every child. This was observed across all environments, from age 3 to 12.”

2023, French National Education Inspection


Our building

Everything is here, under one roof.

  • A dedicated environment for each age group.
  • A large multipurpose room.
  • An amphitheater.
  • A tree-lined courtyard and vegetable garden.
  • An on-site cafeteria.
  • Spaces for reading, art, and rest.

Everything on-site, so the day flows naturally for children and families alike.


Our Montessori approach

Montessori is not a label we put on the door.

It’s a rigorous, living practice. Applied with today’s world in mind. In practice:

  • Emotional awareness,
  • Nonviolent Communication,
  • A careful approach to digital tools,
  • A stable framework where children learn without fear.

Children who leave here are balanced, confident, and genuinely curious about the world.

Montessori is our foundation, not our ceiling. We draw on other approaches when a child or a group needs something different.

Each year, a shared theme runs through the whole school, from age 2 to 12. Same curiosity, different depths.

Last year’s theme was water. See how each environment explored it.
Toddler House
Children’s House
Elementary


Our teaching team

Trained in Montessori, committed to the long term, and bringing very different backgrounds to the table. Each environment has two educators for a maximum of 25 children. Enough to actually know each one. Everyone is carefully recruited, continuously trained, and shares the same values: respect, warmth, and high expectations delivered gently.

We are accountable to the national education authority and to the families we serve. Both matter, and we take both seriously.

Toddler House team • Ages 2 to 4

Marie Cordonnier

Montessori Educator 0-3 (2023)

Montessori Educator 3-6 (2021),

CAP (Vocational Certificate in Early Childhood Education, 2021),

VAE Early Childhood Educator, in progress

→ Learn More About Marie

Anaïs Ounarom

• State Diploma in Childcare (2015),
• CAP (Vocational Certificate in Early Childhood Education, 2013)

Children’s House team • Ages 3 to 6

Joanne Royer

• Montessori Educator 3-6 (2021),
• State Diploma in Special Education (2022),
• Diploma in Teaching French as a Foreign Language (2018),
• State Diploma in Educational Support (2012)

→ Learn More About Joanne

Marie Lemariey

• Montessori Educator 3-6 (2025),
• Montessori Assistant 3-6 (2017),
• Bachelor in Education Sciences (2016),
• BTS (Vocational Degree in Social and Family Economics, 2015)

Zehra Develi

Montessori Educator 3-6 (2023),
Master in Law, Economics and Management (2017),
Bachelor in Life Sciences (2014)

→ Learn More About Zehra

Clémence Crosetta

• Montessori Educator 3-6 (2022),
• State Diploma in Primary Teaching (2018),
• Bachelor in Law (2015)

→ En savoir plus sur Clémence

Elementary team • Ages 6 to 12

Thomas Marti

• Montessori Educator 6-12 (2021),
• Bachelor of Arts in History (2016)

→ Learn More About Thomas

Claudine Donger – Academic Director

• Montessori Educator 6-12 (2019),
• Montessori Educator 3-6 (2020),
• Specialist in Educational Support (2023),
• Certificate of Aptitude for the Bar (1998),
• Master in Private Law (1996)

→ Learn More About Claudine

After-school team

Haider Sarwar

• BAFA (Youth Activity Leaders’ Certificate, 2023),
• Montessori Assistant 3-6, in progress

Pierre-Louis Dorée

• BAFA (Youth Activity Leaders’ Certificate, 2022)

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is elected to oversee the legal, financial, and strategic life of the school, working closely with the teaching team.

No shareholders, no profit motive. Just a community of families and educators committed to the same thing.

Board members

Sandrine Isoard

(Professor, Université Grenoble Alpes)

President

Caz Murrell

(Director)

Secretary

Jessy Crochat

(Archaeologist)

Treasurer


Laura Veysseyre Reyes

(Psychologist)

Board Member

Mickaël Guichard

(Entrepreneur)

Board Member



Families and the association

Our school is run by a registered nonprofit association, Montessori à Petits Pas. Every family contributes. Some sit on the Board, some join a committee, some bring croissants. The form varies, the commitment doesn’t.

  • Communications.
  • Fundraising and sponsorship.
  • Human resources.
  • Safety and maintenance.
  • Events.
  • Pedagogy (led by the Teaching team)

Every month, families also meet for a Parent Café. Coffee, croissants, and good conversation.


Curious about what it’s really like here?

Come to a Parent Café, or simply get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.