About ÎleO

ÎleO was born from lived experience.

I'm Joanne Lee Paul, Founder and CEO of ÎleO. I began my career in fashion, modeling for over a decade, while also working in special education at a high school in the north suburbs of Chicago. That combination shaped how I view learning, creativity, and the importance of meeting children where they are.

In 2016, my work brought me to Haiti, where I served as Creative Director for a collective of designers known as AfroK Junior. I later launched my own brand, JLP, and JLP Atelier, a production space created to provide sustainable work for local designers, pattern makers, and sewers. Community and opportunity were always at the center of that work.

In 2020, political violence forced us to close operations in Haiti. Around the same time, I became a mother, first to my daughter and then to my son. Becoming a parent reshaped everything.

I chose to stay home full time while continuing to work creatively, and naturally began homeschooling my children. What started as a practical choice became a powerful realization. Learning felt calmer, more flexible, and deeply connected to who my children were. Travel soon became part of their education, allowing them to grow through language, culture, and real life experience.

What I still longed for was community.

As a Caribbean woman raising multicultural, globally minded children, I wanted a space where families could learn, live, and grow together without isolation. That search led me back to Curaçao, a place my family returned to year after year and always felt at home. Its culture, rhythm, and openness reflected the environment I wanted for my children.

ÎleO was created to offer that same sense of belonging to other families.

It is not a traditional school, but a learning ecosystem where children are supported individually, families are connected intentionally, and education is woven into everyday life.

ÎleO exists because learning should feel human, families deserve support, and community matters.