Welcome to the DLF Family!
How did DLF Start?
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De La Fontaine Trilingual Montessori School Seminole was proud to open in January 2019, offering your children an accredited education based on the development of each child’s empowerment and independence. Building upon the success of the Seminole campus, we were delighted to launch a second location in St. Petersburg in January 2022.
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As of 2024, De La Fontaine schools proudly serve nearly 200 students and boast a dedicated team of 35 enthusiastic educators. DLF Trilingual Montessori Schools are the only trilingual (English, French, and Spanish) Montessori Schools in Tampa Bay area. We are excited to offer your children an exceptional educational adventure in a positive, safe, respectful, and motivating multicultural environment.
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De La Fontaine’s program is deeply rooted in Maria Montessori’s philosophy and values. We believe that every child is unique and must be respected as a fully-fledged individual. Each child must be placed in a learning environment that provides fun while learning to reach their full intellectual, social, emotional, cultural, and academic potential. Therefore, we offer spacious, pleasant, and fully equipped classrooms according to authentic Montessori pedagogy in which teachers are considered as guides.
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Maria Montessori said, “Let’s not raise our children for today’s world. This world will not exist when they grow up, and nothing allows us to know which world will be theirs: so let them learn to adapt.”
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At De La Fontaine Trilingual Montessori School, this adaptation includes the discovery of cultures and languages to help the child be open-minded, to make them aware of each individual’s richness while highlighting the principles of tolerance, respect, and knowing how to be and live together.
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DLF is the perfect place to learn respect: self-respect, respect for others, but also respect for our environment. We place great importance on nature and encourage experiences to connect children by feeling, touching, observing, and listening to the treasures of nature to better understand and respect it.
We believe in our role as Peace educators by working together with parents and children to co-build a united and respectful community in which our daily goal is the full development of the child. In our school, we consider that parents play a leading role, and we want to value and foster this collaboration.
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De La Fontaine Trilingual Montessori School is a place where our Montessori educators and directors are actively involved and passionate about helping children become the teenager, adult, leader, innovator, and entrepreneur of the future.
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Explore Our Locations
Our Unique Approach
In addition to the Montessori pedagogy, here at DLF we also welcome the use of another form of early childhood education in the form of the Reggio-Emilia approach. We use the Reggio-Emilia approach as a blended guide to enhance all of the great philosophies that already exist inside of the Montessori approach. The foundation of the Reggio Emilia approach lies in its unique view of the child. In this approach, there is a belief that children have rights and should be given opportunities to develop their potential. Rather than being seen as the target of instruction, children are seen as having an active role as an apprentice. This role also extends to that of a researcher. Much of the instruction at Reggio Emilia schools takes place in the form of projects where children have opportunities to explore, observe, hypothesize, question, and discuss to clarify their understanding, which is very similar to the open ended approach to Montessori education. Children are also viewed as social beings and a focus is made on the child in relation to other children, the family, teachers, and the community rather than on each child in isolation.
Our Mission
Let us be your guide for your child to achieve his or her full potential!
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Our mission is to foster the development of each child to reach his or her fullest and highest potential in a culturally diverse environment that is deep rooted in the Montessori philosophy.
Our Vision
Nurturing the child’s curiosity and love of learning. Our approach is built on a deep respect for the individuality of each child and on a joyful connection between children, their families, the school community and the natural world. Our highly-trained team is committed to inspiring, educating, and guiding your child toward in English, French and Spanish languages, while learning life skills and gaining a strong academic foundation. Embracing each child’s unique potential, we empower children to become independent, self-confident, caring and engaged citizens of their community and the world.