Program areas at LFNY
Following the curriculum of the french ministry of education, the Lycee blends the intellectual rigor and breadth of an authentic french education with an american educational philosophy that emphasizes creativity, optimism and ingenuity. Both the french and american educational authorities recognize the Lycee's excellence: the school is accredited by the french ministry of education, the New York state association of independent schools (nysais) and the association of french schools abroad (aefe).welcoming a community of families and learners from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences is central to the Lycee's mission and a priority for the school. Financial aid resources help open the door to a Lycee experience for a wide cross-section of New York city's vibrant communities and families outside the u.s. In 2022-2023, we awarded over $5 million in financial aid to our students, double the amount of aid distributed just five years ago.a significant aspect of the Lycee's program is its bilingual progression from students' earliest years. Guided by one native french-speaking and one native english-speaking teacher, students in its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms are immersed equally in french and english, allowing them to develop total fluency in both languages by first grade, regardless of the language spoken at home. The portion of the students' day spent in french increases to 80% in first through fifth grade. The purpose of this is to solidify students' french language skills amidst the predominantly english-speaking environment of New York city. Sixth through twelfth graders will spend anywhere from 50%-70% of their class time in french depending on their interests and course of study. Students' studies culminate in the french baccalaureate, including the choice to pursue one of three options: the traditional french baccalaureate, the international option of the french baccalaureate (oib) or the french-american baccalaureate (bfa).music, visual art, drama and other forms of artistic expression are part of the regular academic curriculum. At the heart of the school's arts program and fully integrated into the academic life is the Lycee's cultural center, which works in partnership with our teaching team to provide students at all ages with performances, lectures, classroom activities and workshops with creators, thinkers and leaders from many fields of study in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Most notably, the cultural center's artists-in-residence program brings renowned working artists to the campus three times a year to engage an entire grade in a creative endeavor from circus arts to music, writing to illustration over the course of a week.
Auxiliary activities includes afterschool activities, sports and summer camp.students at all grade levels take part in any of our 90 after-school clubs and programs, including art, primary school chorus, musical theater, jazz band, robotics clubs, a bilingual student newspaper, coding, digital art, model u.n. or harvard model congress. From track to gymnastics, baseball to squash, 43 after-school competitive athletic teams offer sixth-grade, junior varsity and varsity levels of play across most sports. A full two-thirds of all secondary students participate, playing against top New York city independent schools. The Lycee also offers an extended after-school childcare and study support program in french and in english for students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, as well as a three-week long french immersion summer camp for children in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. The camp is open to any family interested in fostering a second language for their children in a playful, creative atmosphere. The school's cultural center, in addition to enhancing the Lycee's academic program, offers francophone and french films, concerts and evening panels that are open to the public.