Beyond La Langue de Molière
Since 2012, we have been providing children with an early French education, not only in terms of language but also culture. We welcome students in a nurturing environment that promotes academic excellence, artistic expression, and cultural awareness. Indeed, with a student body of approximately seventy, our families represent 37 nationalities ... what a diversely enriching setting for our children to develop socially!
The moment students enter through the school doors in the morning, they may as well have stepped into a school in Paris. For the next six to ten hours, their day is just like that of a Parisian student, whether playing, learning, writing, speaking, or listening. French is not just the language of instruction, it is our language of communication. It is the way we spend the day, whether in the classroom, on the playground, in the hallways, or at lunch. From hearing the teachers, assistants, and office staff speak among themselves to using their fountain pens and Clairefontaine notebooks, our students' experience is authentic. Indeed, we offer the only full-time, truly immersive French educational program in Palm Beach County.
As one of only 25 Mission Laique schools in North America, we share the conviction that the ability to communicate fluently -- convincingly and respectfully -- with people around the world is perhaps the single most important tool with which we can gift our children for their futures. Indeed, the mindset propelling globalization is one that multi-lingual children, with their diverse backgrounds, cultures, and interests, develop early on in an international setting such as our school.
I often say that we do not teach French; we teach in French. By that I don't mean simply that we teach all school subjects (math, science, social studies, art history, civics / ethics, and language arts) in French, which of course we do. What I mean is that we aim to teach our children much more than the core academics, and certainly much more than French. We teach them the skills to think independently, to wonder inquisitively, to reason empirically, to solve creatively -- and we strive to give them the tools to do this with kindness, respect, empathy, compassion, determination, and resilience.
Given the increasingly global environment in which we live, for our children's generation, a second language is no longer a plus, it is a necessity. Yet, as educators in an international school, our responsibility extends far beyond language. Indeed, our commitment to our families is to both inspire and empower our students.
Sophie Lavigne
Founder, Head of School
