Presentation

With globalization a fact, and cultural diversity an ever-increasing reality, New York’s public schools have opened themselves up to the learning of foreign languages but also to the teaching of traditional core content areas in a language other than English. According to the New York Department of Education, students who will speak a second language will be better prepared to succeed in a multicultural world and will be able to preserve their cultural heritage. Since 2005, new programs in the French language have emerged en force in the public schools. The impetus that created the rapid success of these programs is a result of the synergy between multiple partners—French, Francophone, and Francophile. These actors have offered an alternative to parents who seek not only to offer an economically feasible solution for a dual English-French education, but also a more diverse choice in their children’s education.

The French Government, through the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, American foundations such as FACE, the Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation and the Alfred & Jane Ross Foundation, as well as parent associations such as Education Française à New York (EFNY) and the Friends of New York French-American Bilingual and Multicultural Education are amongst those organizations that have grasped the importance of dual language education and have consolidated their efforts to work with the city’s public schools.

The French Embassy, for instance, provides the text books and offers trainings and workshops for the professors; additionally, the Embassy contributes logistical and financial aid to the schools. The parent association EFNY serves as both the go-between between the schools, the parents and various institutions, and the spokesperson for the Francophone families in New York. EFNY’s numerous initiatives facilitated the relationship between the Department of Education and the Francophone families. The Alfred & Jane Ross Foundation has brought its financial support and expertise in the development of innovative programming and pedagogy. Together, these partners, the schools and the Department of Education have offered New York’s 300,000-strong French-speaking community (representing more than 55 different nationalities) access to much needed French-language curricula that will help their children maintain strong ties to their heritage while becoming true global citizens.

An increased need for teachers of French

The need for French teachers has already increased and will continue to do so as new programs open up. In the case of Francophone teachers wanting to teach in these programs, the New York certification and a B.A. diploma of at least four years is often required. For teachers certified outside of the state of New York, it is possible to obtain an equivalency through a strict evaluation administered on a case by case basis by the Department of Education. For more information:
http://schools.nyc.gov/TeachNYC/requirements/nystate

Principals Program

Starting in 2010 the French Embassy will initiate a program that will provide school principals involved in public schools that offer curriculum taught in French to visit France on an educational trip that will help them develop connections with schools and principals in France.

Special recognition: on October 20th 2009, French Ambassador Pierre Vimont conferred the insignia of chevalier of the Order of Academic Palms upon four principals: Giselle Gault McGee, Jean Veyr'ne Mirvil, Robin Sundick and Shimon Waronker. These recipients were honored for their tireless participation in the development of French-English dual language programs in their respective schools—PS 58 in Brooklyn, PS 73 in the Bronx, PS 84 in Manhattan and CIS 22 in the Bronx. Claudette Lustin, former principal of PS 125 in Harlem also received the title of chevalier in the order of Academic Palms. PS 125 was one of the three forerunners with PS58 and CIS 22 to launch a French-English dual-language program in 2007.

In February 2010, an official delegation of New York public school principals traveled to France, to discuss how to consolidate French language classes in innovative American public schools and how to deepen bilateral educational ties through school pairings and exchanges. The delegation, whose travel expenses were covered by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, met with high-level government officials from the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs in Paris, Photo: The Delegation at Teachers’ College in Montpellier and then headed to Montpellier in southwestern France. French authorities are hoping that the Montpellier regional school district will sign a comprehensive educational agreement with New York City.

The great success of these various French-language programs has inspired French authorities, who are keen to pursue and deepen educational exchanges with the United States. In particular, they are eager to encourage a wide-ranging educational agreement, formally known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between the Montpellier regional school district and New York City, modeled on the 12 other MOUs that have been signed between French regional school districts and U.S. states. Such an agreement would facilitate school pairings, the sharing of best practices, and student and teacher exchanges. More intense cooperation would create a taste for America, which would be bolstered by the international American section at the Jules Guesde high school in Montpellier.

As a foretaste of the potential of such an agreement, the U.S. principals were given information about the Jules Verne program, which would offer French and American educators an opportunity to spend a year in each other’s countries in order to learn from one another. In Montpellier (located on the Mediterranean coast, near the Pyrenees Mountains), the New York principals met their counterparts from their sister schools, as well as the regional superintendent of Montpellier schools, Christian Philip, who is particularly enthusiastic about international exchanges.

The establishment of memorandums of understanding is a priority for the French government, as they help put French-language education on a solid footing in the U.S. while also introducing French educators to American educational practices. In order to accommodate the federal nature of America’s educational system and encourage decentralized bilateral ties, such agreements are generally signed between a specific U.S. state or large city and a French regional school district that encompasses several local districts. As of today, 12 MOUs have been signed, and 3 are being negotiated with a view to being signed in 2010.

Teacher Development and Teacher Exchange Program

Thanks to the French Ministry of Education’s Jules Verne program teachers in these schools will be able to exchange their position with teachers in France, and teach in France during one academic year on the basis of reciprocity.

Teachers in the dual-language programs receive teacher development opportunities throughout the year thanks to a series of workshops proposed by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in partnership with the French Embassy. Furthermore, these teachers can apply to a scholarship program which sends teachers to France for a three-week training program in July. In partnership with Teachers College (IUFM) in Montpellier, France, teacher trainees from France will spend several weeks in each dual-language program in order to gain valuable experience and share their expertise with the local schools. In return IUFM Montpellier will host NYC teachers sent to France for training and serve as a liaison with schools in the south of France with a view to establishing school pairing and exchanges.

French Goes Public, a Franco-American fundraising campaign to support these programs.

Since 2007, the campaign to raise funds for French Goes Public was launched to support the various French language teaching programs in New York. In France, the Senate, the Ministère de l’Education nationale and the Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes quickly contributed their support.

The donations of foundations and individual are allowing us to match the contributions coming from France. The website Network for Good enables individuals to safely and efficiently make their donation online. These donations, contributed to the non-profit French American Cultural Exchange Council (FACE), are tax-deductible.

These donations are used to purchase textbooks and to fund teacher training and workshops. All cheques can be made payable to FACE, 972 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10075.

Contact

Fabrice JAUMONT
Education Attaché
Embassy of France
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10075

fabrice.jaumont@diplomatie.gouv.fr
T: 1 (212) 439-1436
F: 1 (212) 439-1455