Academics

The French Common Core of Knowledge Skills, and Culture

In French education, students start developing the Common Core in École Élémentaire (elementary school) and continue until age 16. Common Core is designed to identify the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes necessary for students to be successful in their school, personal, and civic life. The Common Core is taught through different methods and courses. For example, students will start to develop critical thinking skills in their Moral and Civic education course. 

Subjects and Disciplines
In elementary school, students are taught several different subjects and disciplines. They learn:

• French
• A modern language
• Art
• Music
• Physical education and sports
• Moral and civic education
• History and geography
• Math

Each of these subjects is taught so that students learn facts and information, while learning which methods help them to learn best when engaging with new material. Some skills we strive to develop include:

• Critical thinking
• Oral and written skills
• Comprehension
• Mathematical and spatial comprehension
• Reasoning
• Language learning
• Personal and emotional expression,
• Following rules and personal responsibility
• Adapting to various environments
• How to work individually or as a team to achieve certain goals

Cycle 2 (Fundamental Learning Cycle for Grades 1-3)
During Cycle 2 (Fundamental Learning Cycle), our priority is students' mastery of languages. French language is made up of central learning for students to acquire strong reading and writing skills. Through language, they learn to make connections between different subjects and disciplines and to give meaning to their instruction. They are also taught how to complete basic learning activities and to justify their answers and approaches with rationale. Through regular memorization, activities that allow automatic approaches to basic skills, and comprehension activities, they gradually access more complex knowledge.

Cycle 3 (Consolidation Cycle for Grades 4-6)
During Cycle 3 (Consolidation Cycle) we reinforce and stabilize the knowledge students learned in Cycle 2, particularly language proficiency, which is essential to learning other subjects such as French, mathematics, art and body expression. Students are gradually introduced to academic subjects and their specific knowledge, language, approaches and methods, especially history and geography, science and technology. Their capacity for abstract analysis increases and they begin to produce and structure their thoughts by taking in new knowledge. Schools take into account the different aptitudes of each student. Reasoning and intellectual reflection are developed as well as other skills, such as observation skills, experimentation, sensitivity, motor skills and creative imagination.

In middle school, students begin to learn a third foreign language. Science is expanded to include technology, biology, geology, chemistry and physics. Statistics and functions are added to the mathematics program. Students also study English literature, U.S. and world history, and geography.

At the conclusion of 9th grade, students take the Brevet des Collèges (an exam to receive their middle school diploma) with four written examinations in French, mathematics, history-geography, sciences, and one oral examination.

Louisiana High School Diploma

Students build on the knowledge and skills gained during their previous school years, as well as specializing in specific areas of studies to advance toward their high school diploma. Taking core academic classes towards their diploma and TOPS University Pathway, we ensure students have access and understanding of all pathways for success after graduation.

The Lycée unique program provides students with all the needed tools to be prepared for a successful college experience. The strengthening of students’ intellectual potential through educational frameworks designed to develop 21st century skills, will adequately prepare students for college and work. Students will be engaged in dialectic exercises, think analytically and critically among different branches of knowledge, craft an argument, delve into abstraction, and produce quality work in a stimulating intellectual environment where language, sciences, the humanities and the arts blend and are the cornerstone of their educational experience. Key for the attainment of these skills is the partnership among students, teachers, parents and all stakeholders. We welcome and encourage these essential dialogues.

Furthermore, bilingualism, biliteracy, multiculturalism, the embrace and celebration of our diversity, the importance of equity and inclusion, and the testament of their transformative power, are all Lycée’s extraordinary assets that students can build upon to find their rightful place in our society and contribute with strong citizenry.  

The French Baccalauréat

Created in 1808, this diploma possesses two special features: it marks the successful conclusion of secondary studies and opens access to higher education. Courses taken by students in the 11th and 12th grades are taught at the college level. As a result, both Canadian and American colleges and universities often grant college credit to French Baccalauréat holders on the basis of their performance on the exams.

Most of the students in French high schools in the United States have followed a bilingual curriculum (which is accredited by the French Ministry of National Education) from the pre-K level. In addition, students master a third language as this is one of the Baccalauréat requirements. In the United States, because the majority of French Baccalauréat students are bilingual, French High Schools offer more than one level of English in the standard Baccalauréat program. Students may also elect a different Baccalauréat specialization:

The French Baccalauréat with the “Option Internationale” (OIB)

In the OIB, students take two courses and exams in English: OIB American Literature and Language in lieu of the regular English as a foreign language, and OIB History and OIB Geography courses and exams, which cover both the regular French curriculum and a U.S. History curriculum. This is unrelated to the International Baccalaureate (IB).

The French-American Baccalauréat (FAB)

The French-American Baccalauréat (FAB) is a combination of France’s Baccalauréat and the College Board's Advanced Placement program. In collaboration with the College Board, the French Ministry of National Education has created a special diploma recognizing an
excellent mastery of the French language, as well as of the English language and American culture. Within the FAB, students take three or four AP courses corresponding to their compulsory elective, in lieu of three corresponding French courses, towards their Baccalauréat.