Bienvenue !
A unique French school
in Chicago
La Petite École de Chicago (LPEC) is the Premier French Bilingual school of the Midwest, serving Chicago's North Shore and Old Town / Lincoln Park neighborhoods. L'Institut Bilingue, our full secondary school program, also serves children remotely and offers adult language classes.
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Our mission
To offer an academic bilingual program
Inspired by the program of the French Ministry of Education, our private school in the Chicago area offers a bilingual curriculum that welcomes all.
Centered around your child
Your child will learn French and academic skills at their own pace, thanks to an individual program, based on their strengths.
In a stimulating and demanding environment
Our rigorous French language school is unique because of our low students/teacher ratio.
une école à taille de l'enfant
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Our programs
La Petite École de Chicago is a French immersion school with a demanding curriculum.
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Our campuses
Parents trust our French school
Reviews coming soon!
Our team
The Academic Committee
Mme Marjolaine Fath
Member of the Comité Académique
Professeur des Écoles with the CAPE certificate, Madame Fath has over 10 years of experience including 4 at LPEC. She holds a Bachelor's in Education Science and Master's in Education.
Mme Elizabeth Faure
Member of the Comité Académique
Professeur des Écoles with a CAPE certificate, Madame Faure has over 20 years of experience, mostly in cycle 2. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics. She also holds a certification as a school administrator and another as a foreign language instructor.
M. Henry Palacci
Principal · British & American History and Member of the Comité Académique
Monsieur Palacci holds Bachelor's from Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service, MBA from INSEAD. He founded LPEC and chairs the Comité Académique.
Preschool & Elementary — Cycles 1–3
Mme Coraline Brun
Cycle 1
With La Petite École de Chicago since 2024, on our Cycle 1 team, with prior experience teaching elementary grade children in the FLAM program of Chicago.
Mme Gelen Paez
Cycles 4–5 — Professeur de FLE
Bachelor's from Université de Lille 3, C1 in FLE since 1986. Taught children and adults at the Alliance Française of Maracaibo, then at la Petite École of Miami.
Middle & High School — Cycles 4 & 5
Mme Coline Balius
Professeur des Écoles
Professeur des Écoles with the CAPE certificate, 18 years of experience, including 7 years at a French School in San Diego and 5 years at LPEC. Bachelor's in Chemistry and Master's in teaching French as a Foreign Language.
M. Marc Maschino
Cycle 4 — Physique / Chimie and secretary to the Comité Académique
BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue, Masters from ESTA (outside Paris), MBA from DePaul. Teaching scientific subjects to our middle and high school students for 4 years.
La prochaine étape...
Do you have questions or would you like to tour our school?
To learn more about our curriculum, schedule a parent interview or reserve a place on our preschool program waiting list, just call or register to begin the admissions process.
Mon–Thu 8:30a – 3:30p · Fri 8:30a – 2:00p · 620 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka