Armed with a passion for psychology, child development and a deep belief in the Montessori philosophy, Catalina Murcia transformed a humble 12-child daycare into Casa de Paz Montessori, a thriving, two-story haven of learning on Hampton Road.
Photography by Ethan Good
Shaped by her upbringing, Murcia’s mission has always been clear: to nurture the innate curiosity of children and offer peaceful, purpose-driven education.
Murcia is a native of Bogota, Colombia and the founder of Casa de Paz Montessori School. She came to live in the States when she was 9 years old and has always been interested in psychology and child development. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a major in psychology and minor in early childhood development and family studies and got her AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) diploma from the Montessori Institute of North Texas.
Casa de Paz began in a little house when Murcia was pregnant with her first daughter. The first location served as a home-based daycare with a capacity of 12.
“I always wanted to open a Montessori School,” Murcia says. “That’s what I studied. I studied education, and then got into Montessori. And there were a lot of options up north, but I didn’t see very many here in the south, and specifically in Oak Cliff, where I grew up. So I wanted to provide high-quality Montessori education to the families that I grew up with here.”
They expanded to a building in Bishop Arts with a capacity of about 34, where they had toddler programs and primary programs with one classroom for each. They moved to their current location on Hampton Road in 2023, which is two stories and has capacity for about 140 people.
“I love seeing my students, seeing them play outside every day,” Murcia says. “It was a lot of work, and I’m really proud of everything that we’ve done for everybody and just together, because it hasn’t just been me, it’s because of all of the parents’ support and the community that puts it all together.”
A Montessori school uses a unique educational approach developed by Maria Montessori that emphasizes child-led learning and independence. These schools focus on hands-on activities and allow children to explore their interests at their own pace. Montessori classrooms are designed to be self-contained environments where children can choose their activities and work independently or in small groups.
Casa de Paz aims to keep children’s natural curiosity alive and provide them with the means of auto-education, meaningful work and the opportunity to build positive relationships with people of all age groups.
“I fell in love with it when I was in school because it is very humanistic and really focuses on understanding the human being. And it’s very spiritual in a way,” Murcia says. “Dr. Montessori’s books are about peace and creating peace within to be able to create it in the world. So she felt that if you provide humans with what their spirit, their being is asking for, what they naturally need through each stage of development, you will have adults who are fulfilled and know their purpose.”
Casa de Paz offers parent and baby classes starting at three months on Saturdays, 18 months to age 3 is their toddler community, and they started an elementary program two years ago.
The toddler program guides children through key developmental milestones within an inviting, nurturing environment. Toddlers freely explore four enriching areas designed to support holistic growth: practical life, language, psycho-motor development and the outdoor garden.
The primary classroom serves children within environments designed for holistic growth. Children engage with five distinct areas that support cognitive, emotional and physical development: practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics and art, music and movement.
The elementary program embraces Montessori’s cosmic education, fostering interconnected learning across subjects such as geography, history, science and math. In a collaborative, mixed-age environment, students engage in meaningful projects, pursue independent research and participate in frequent outings and hands-on culinary experiences.
The school recently celebrated its 19th anniversary, and Murcia looks forward to continuing to provide meaningful education in Oak Cliff.
“I’m pretty proud that we’ve been here, that this continues to grow and that hopefully it’ll be here for a very long time, for many generations, for my children and grandchildren, to be able to be here and to serve the community for a very long time,” Murcia says. “Most of our families stay for a long time.”
