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Our educators and administrators are the backbone of everything we do at Les Petits Francophones. We couldn't be here without them. The majority of our team is Francophone and most are multi-lingual adding a richly diverse mosaic to the school and its celebrated diversity. Each classroom comprises of at least one anglophone and one francophone educator.
Our Team
Laetitia Medrano, Executive Director
Laetitia joined our team as Interim Executive Director/Director of Education Development in June 2021 and was promoted to Executive Director in September 2021. Her role primarily focuses on programmatic development and teacher development, as well as supporting school operations. Native from France, Laetitia moved to Canada after her master degree in Social Studies. She lived in Canada in many places, for 12 years, from the East Coast to the West Coast. Teaching was her passion, so she went back to the University of Ottawa to get her Bachelor of Education. Hired by Vancouver School Board, she worked with children from grade 2 to grade 5 and became Head teacher. Seeking new opportunities, she decided to move to California and worked in Oakland for the past 3 years in a Francophone school.
Always looking for new challenges, she joined Les Petits Francophones' Board as Secretary in October 2020. Mom of two children, an 11 years old girl and a 16 years old boy, she loves cooking and enjoy outdoors activities! Dedicated to provide the best in education, Laetitia also loves creating inclusive projects and enrichment activities.
Sahar Aghba, Lead Infant Program - Lead Chenilles Classroom
Sahar joined LPF's team as a lead teacher in January 2024. She was born in Iran and graduated from high school as an electrician. After immigrated to Canada with her family in 1998, she pursued higher education in the science of art at college. Subsequently, Sahar obtained her license as a makeup artist and meanwhile she discovered her true passion for working with young children. Driven by this passion, she enrolled in college and earned her childcare diploma and became fully qualified teacher. Throughout her journey, Sahar enjoyed working with children, serving as a babysitter for various families and daycare facilities. In 2003, she got married and relocated to San Francisco, where she and her husband now have three beautiful teenage daughters and a small Yorkie dog named "Coco."
Over the years, Sahar has accumulated extensive experience as a lead teacher, working with different age groups ranging from 6 weeks to 5 years old. For the past 15 years, she has found particular fulfillment in working with infants and toddlers. With more than 25 years in the field, Sahar's dedication to children's well-being brings her joy, energy, and a sense of pride. She cherishes her role in fostering children's self-esteem from the beginning, knowing that it contributes to increased motivation and learning in kids.
Beyond her professional life, Sahar enjoys various hobbies such as dancing, listening to music, shopping, spending quality time with her family, and indulging in art.
Melia Gabriel, Lead Teacher Papillon/Francophone teacher
Melia Gabriel is thrilled to be joining the LPF family. She fell in love with French in middle school and earned her French minor at San Francisco State University. She also holds a BA in English from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. She began teaching during the pandemic and fell in love with it. She returned to school and recently earned her Site Supervisor Early Childhood Education Teaching Credential. In her spare time, she loves to visit Disneyland, foster cats, and try new restaurants. She looks forward to fostering a love of French in her students!
Taous Zibouche, Francophone teacher Papillons
Coming soon
Hassiba Guerrab, Francophone teacher Chenilles
Coming soon!
Laurence Young, Lead Teacher Canetons/Francophone Teacher
Laurence joined LPF in July 2019. She is originally from Brittany, France. She currently lives in Dublin, CA. Laurence worked as a French teacher in Raleigh, NC, and over the last three years, she has been working diligently toward her AA in Early Childhood Education. She has been living in the US for 18 years. She previously lived in Arizona and North Carolina. She is married and has two daughters. She likes spending time with her husband and daughters, playing board games, going to the movies, and exploring local areas. She enjoys reading historical fiction and non-fictional accounts of France’s history. She spent one year leading our 3-4-year-old class; since September 2021, she has been leading the Canetons' classroom.
Emily Millot, Bilingual Teacher Canetons
Emily joined LPF in March of 2022. She has worked for three years as an assistant preschool teacher in Oakland, California. She initially went to school to pursue a career as a social worker but put it on hold to raise a family. She has dedicated the last twenty eight years to raising three sons, all of whom have graduated from the French American International School and are currently embracing adulthood. She recently returned to school to attain her Associate Teacher Certificate and is deeply committed to the education of children for future generations.
Mai Yu, English Teacher Canards
Madame Mai joined LPF in August 2022. She was in Laos and lived in Thailand for a couple of years before moving to the US to start working with children. She was an Early Head Start infant assistant teacher and toddler teacher for more than 10 years.
She really enjoys exercising, swimming, cooking , gardening, and spending time with her family.
Ana Diarra, Francophone Teacher Canards
Coming Soon!
Crystal Anaya, Lead Toddlers Program - English Teacher Cygnes
Coming soon!
Courtney Lee, Francophone Teacher Cygnes
Courtney joined the LPF team in January 2024. She currently lives in Hayward, CA. She spent time as an assistant preschool teacher in 2018-2019. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in French and Francophone Studies from UCLA in 2023. In addition to speaking French, she also speaks some Mandarin Chinese.
She enjoys spending time with her family, reading books, and exercising. She also loves to learn different languages andcultures. Her son is also attending Les Petits Francophones.
Maria Lakbal, Francophone teacher aide Toddlers
Coming soon!
Antoinette Chaplin, Lead Preschool Program - English Teacher Lions
Antoinette joined LPF's team in July 2022. Born in San Francisco and brought up to Oakland, she had been working with children for the past eight years. Antoinette's emphasis is to support and develop children's social emotional need, and help them recognize their feeling, and guiding them in finding ways to express themself in a safe manner. Her goal is to be able to help children learn and grow into a wonderful person! She is thankful for working here with your children.
Antoinette has a dog named Jack and when she is not working she enjoys spending time with her family, practicing drawing and doing cosplay.
Nathalie Steinmetz, Francophone Teacher Lions
Nathalie joined our team as a Teacher Aide in September 2021, and is a credentialed ECE teacher since May 2022. Nathalie is a French native, born on the beautiful island of Corsica (France). She is mother of 4 now teenagers and we 2 cats. She really enjoys cooking, baking, spending time at the beach, and gardening. Also, she loves fashion! But more than anything, what makes her happy, is to laugh, talk and spend time with her children and the people she loves.
For most of her adult life, she has been a stay-at-home mom, and now, she is bringing her passion for education on a professional journey.
Yonglin Huang, English Teacher Lions
Yonglin joined the LPF team in February 2024. Born and raised in China, she moved to
California with her family in 2014. Yonglin has experience working as a teacher and
teacher assistant in an afterschool program and a preschool center. She earned her BA
in Education Science from UCI in 2023.
Yonglin enjoys working with young, energetic children, finding inspiration in their
creativity and always learning from them. In her spare time, she loves spending time
with her family, traveling, cooking, and gardening.
Keisha Hadley, Chef
Coming soon!
Morgane Bhatt, Francophone Substitute Teacher
Morgane joined our team in August 2021 as a Teacher Assistant. Morgane graduated in December 2021 and she is now our house substitute teacher. Morgane is a French Native and has worked in a french-speaking pre-school for the last three years. Morgane moved to California six years ago. In France, she worked for the National Center of Scientific Research as a human resource manager. When she moved to California, she became a French tutor and volunteered at French preschool, which led her to decide to pursue a career in Early Childhood Education. She is the proud mother of twins who are also attending Les Petits Francophones. Morgane also has over 30 years of high-level competitive fencing experience, including silver and bronze medals at the USA National Championship (in Women Foil Veteran).