"It is the child who contains the salvation of life, it is in him that the man of tomorrow is elaborated"

Maria Montessori

OUR HISTORY

In 1976, Odette Cutullic, then a United Nations Civil Servant, was the initiator and President of the Crèche des Nations for officials of International Organizations in Geneva.

It was the first nursery applying Montessori pedagogy for children from 2 months to 6 years old and the largest (120 children). The Crèche was taken over by the City of Geneva in 1994. Mrs Cutullic is a founding member of the Swiss Montessori Association, where she was President for eight years.

Over the years, faced with the growing demand for parents for Montessori teaching up to primary level, Mrs. Cutullic, with the support of Mrs. Denise Baechler and Mr. Pierre Marconi (retired UN Civil Servant), envisioned the creation of a school for children from 3 to 9 years old. Two small villas were arranged for this purpose, Rue de Lausanne in Geneva.

The Fondation Ecole Montessori Nations was created in 1989. It is managed by a Foundation Board which is responsible for the long-term strategy and administration of the Foundation. The daily management of the School is provided by a Directress, appointed by the Board. 

In 2007, following the obligation to leave vacant the buildings, and repeated requests from parents for a course covering the entire primary curriculum, a possibility of enlargement was presented with beautiful spacious premises which previously housed another school, thus allowing education up to 12 years. After extensive work, the move took place in August 2007 and 91 students were able to integrate this new space.

Since then, the School has continued its journey with a hundred students each year, maintaining its original goals of offering children a bilingual French-English quality education, geared towards the future, with the use of modern technologies to disposition. The 20 people who make up a competent and committed staff are one of its greatest assets.