The French International School of Boca Raton Le Petit Prince

"A disorganized mess. When you tour the school, everything will seem lovely as the headmaster will promise you an amazing care for your child and curriculum. The reality is much different. My daughter attended the school in 2021-2022. During this time, an assistant that was part of the promised 2 adults per 15 children base, abruptly left and parents weren’t made aware. One teacher was left with 15 2-year-old children, a few who kept hitting the others day after day with nothing done or communicated to the parents (my daughter and her little friend would tell us after school, and later the teacher would confirm). This went on for months. If a staff ever leaves, the school has a hard time replacing them as they are required to be fluent in French and English. Nearly all the teachers listed on their website (who appear super qualified ) are no longer there, I believe also because of the confusion they must experience in the workplace. The school has a Spring Parade, but you aren’t told of the date of the parade until a few days before (as if parents aren’t working and in need of extra time to make sure they are free). The kids “bake” in class, but you are only told about it 2 days before and asked to provide all materials for it. In January of our year, I asked for info on next year’s tuition, and I was told it would be coming soon. I followed up in February, March then April and kept being given the same answer while also being reassured that my daughter’s spot was saved. The other parents told me that it’s the “French way” and so, though delayed, we will hear information soon. As you can imagine, by then, most other schools were filled up. And finally in JUNE, we were emailed by the headmaster that a new location for the school had finally been found (this was the first time she had ever communicated that the school was to be moving at all) after months of searching for a school all over Palm Beach. She urged us to sign up right away and pay in order to “reserve” our spot. I emailed Sophie, the headmaster, back and asked for the location of the new school, what the school would be like before I gave any money. Within 12 hours, she messaged me back saying prek3 spots had all been filled up but that I could sign up for prek4 (without providing anymore info). I told her this was unprofessional and that I’d have to think about. Finally, after realizing we had no other choice and after wanting to keep some type of “consistency” with schools as my daughter was getting a little sister, I signed up for the new school year and paid. I ended up paying two more tuition statement by August (as that is how their “payment plan” works for the year). Finally, as the start date of end of August was approaching, I called the school and they told me the new location was not yet ready. Then we received an emailing stating that the school did not get approval for added walls inside the building so that all prek classes would be doing different lessons in the same room as well as that school would not be starting the following week but be delayed. At this point, I emailed and called the school asking for my money back due to breach of contract and decided to look literally anywhere else for my daughter to attend. I was told via phone that my money will not be returned as I “can’t just decide not to go and get your money back,” as if I randomly decided this… not as if THEY were completely unprepared for the school year and moved the start date. I have tried to contact the headmaster by email, post, phone,in person, but no returns in communication have been made. The school owes us more than $5000. So my recommendation would be to stay away from here if you can. The only reason we had even decided to sign up was because of lack of other options, because of consistency, because we had liked my daughter’s teacher, because her little best friend was going there, because we had a big life change happening. But obviously we were idiots for not picking up on the 100 red flags before that. Don’t make the same mistake… Good luck!"

"One of the best schools in South Florida. This little school enjoys a great reputation. At Le Petite Prince, they take very seriously a child's safety and over all well-being, without compromising on a high-quality education. At this school, you will find the children always engaged in various educational activities. Even playtime has the underlining objective to instill into little minds a sense of cooperation, team work and the building block for leadership and critical thinking. The school's director is phenomenal, and she’s truly committed to creating an educational impact. Le Petit Prince is on par with some of the best schools in France. I highly recommend this gem of a school."

"We love this schools so much. My son has been attending for three years and I don't have enough good things to say about it. It's a small school with a family feel - every member of staff are kind, caring, wonderful people who love the children in their care. I also love the teaching philosophy of the school where the children have lots of opportunities to be creative through arts, music and more, and are given the opportunity to learn to think for themselves rather than just being told what is the 'right' answer to something. They get lots of opportunities to be outdoors, take part in amazing projects and learn about different cultures. My son will keep going to this school for as long as he can - I hope they open up a middle and a high school too!! Thank you Le Petit Prince for giving my son such wonderful experiences and for your constant high-quality attention and care."

"Both my girls attended Le Petit Prince summer camp and they loved it. There is a theme every week and they learn interesting facts about the weekly theme. They also taste foods and make craft in association with that theme. Certain days they practice tennis and have water days on Fridays. All the staff is extremely nice and caring. It is a wonderful school during the year as well. My 3 year old has been there for 2 years and she loves it. She can now count in 3 languages as they also offer Spanish classes during their after school program. I would recommend this school without hesitation to any parents interested in raising bilingual children :)"

"Le Petite Prince is a remarkable little school. It’s very unassuming in it’s space, located in the back of a church. But when you walk in, you immediately know that this is a place your children will be loved and well cared for. The space they’ve created is charming. The teachers are engaging. And the children are adorable and happy. I’ve spent 20 years on a school board, so have some experience with educational facilities. Just visit, and you’ll know. Highly recommended."