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News Articles
June 16, 2010 - The Portland Press Herald
The French School wins accreditation
By JULIANA L'HEUREUX
Maine's French immersion primary school in Freeport recently received its full academic accreditation from the French government.
Willy Le BiHan, director and founder of L'Ecole du Francaise (The French School) said the process for accreditation by Agence pour l'Enseignement du Francais a l'Etranger took three years to complete.
"The accreditation process was rigorous," said Le Bihan. A two-week site visit by the Minister of French Education, conducted during this past school year, was required.
"Our immersion program supports Maine's Franco-American heritage," said Le Bihan. "We provide great opportunities for children to receive quality education while growing up to be bilingual in French and English," he said.
Helping to retain French as a language spoken in the homes of Franco-American families is one of the cultural goals of L'Ecole du Francaise.
"Some students speak French with their Franco-American grandparents in the home," said Le Bihan. This is particularly interesting because the grandparents grew up speaking French while their children, who are the students' parents, are often not fluent in the language. As a matter of fact, some students' parents are in a position of asking their children to translate conversations between them and the grandparents.
An official presentation of the academic accreditation will be made Thursday by Christophe Guilhou, consul general of France in Boston, during the school's graduation ceremony in Freeport.
L'Ecole du Francaise joins the International School of Boston in Cambridge and the French-American School in Providence, R.I., as accredited French immersion schools in New England. With the addition from Maine, 40 French immersion schools are located throughout the United States, accredited by the French government's Ministry of Education.
With the accreditation, L'Ecole du Francaise is in the position of attracting more French teachers from France to teach at the Freeport campus. Teachers who are French nationals can receive three-year sabbaticals from their positions in France while on the faculty of L'Ecole du Francaise or other accredited schools. Their positions in France will be protected during the sabbaticals.
A three-year plan required for accreditation included two goals. One is to improve French language proficiency in speaking, reading and writing. The second is to educate the students about Maine's Franco-American history.
Students recently created a play covering Maine's 400 years of French history, beginning with Samuel de Champlain and his role in the founding of the St. Croix Island settlement in the St. Croix River, up until modern times. Student also interview Franco-Americans to learn more about the French presence in Maine.
All academic subjects at L'Ecole du Francaise are taught in French by native speakers of the language. Curriculum follows the directives of both the French Ministere de L'Education Nationale and the educational guidelines set by the state of Maine. Additionally, the L'Ecole anticipates receiving accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, it is hoped next year.
Seventy students attending L'Ecole in preschool through seventh grades are from the Portland, Camden and Lewiston areas. About 40 percent are from French European families. Graduates are accepted in schools throughout Maine and the U.S.
"Our curriculum is very strong. Our students do well on all the standardized tests," said Le Bihan.
"Clearly, the French government sees the accreditation as a long-term investment in Maine's French immersion education. This is a diplomatic recognition for Maine's French culture" said Le Bihan.
Information about L'Ecole can be found at www.efdm.org.
Juliana L'Heureux can be contacted at: juliana@mainewriter.com [ ]
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August 26, 2009 - Portland Press Herald
Close to Home: France honors the founders of Frenc
JULIANA L'HEUREUX / LES FRANCO AMERICAINS August 26, 2009
Willy and Elizabeth LeBihan of South Freeport are certified teachers who share a common educational goal: for their three children to be raised speaking fluent French and English. As a result, they created the bilingual L'Ecole Francaise du Maine/The French School of Maine, in South Freeport.
This spring, the couple received the distinguished title of Knights and were awarded l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (the Knights in the Order of Academic Palms) by Xavier Darcos, French minister of education. This distinguished honor, created by Napoleon, is one of the world's oldest civil awards.
French Consul General Francois Gauthier presented the award June 18 in recognition of the immersion school, where all academic subjects are taught in French by native speakers of the language.
The LeBihans started the school in 2002 in Winthrop with only 12 children, two of whom were their daughters. Soon thereafter, the school moved to a newly renovated sunny building in South Freeport, where students from Winthrop and southern Maine could easily commute. Today, 70 students are enrolled in kindergarten through the seventh grade. Adult French evening programs are also offered.
Elizabeth "Beth" Chaote LeBihan explains how the couple's vision for a French school probably began when she met her future husband while they were studying in Ireland. Beth's mother is a Franco-American who grew up speaking French in the Sand Hill neighborhood of Augusta. Her mother's roots date many generations to the MicMac tribe in Quebec.
Beth studied in Ireland as an exchange student so she could connect with her father's Irish heritage. Then she met Willy, a French national born near Paris and raised in Brittany, on the northwest coast of France. Willy was able to spark Beth's interest in her mother's French heritage.
"It all came back to us sharing a French heritage, even though he was studying English and I was learning about the Irish," Beth says.
When the couple married, they decided to raise their children to speak both French and English. "I was astounded by how effortlessly and quickly my very young children learned to be fluent in both languages," she says.
Maintaining that fluency was put at risk the day her oldest daughter came home from kindergarten and asked her mother to speak in English.
"At that moment, we realized something dramatic had happened. Our opportunity to continue speaking French at home was at risk," she says.
The LeBihans wanted to retain the bilingual skills they worked hard to learn. They put their many years of teaching experience to work for them by learning how to create a bilingual school. Their learning was on site, observing immersion programs in New Brunswick and in Brittany, France.
L'Ecole Francaise du Maine is modeled after French schools where children begin their education as toddlers.
Receiving l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques was a huge honor.
"These awards are often received after a lifelong career," says Beth. "We are humbled by the recognition."
Gauthier, the consul general, was especially helpful to them when he visited the school. He extended his outreach throughout Maine to support Franco-Americans.
Development efforts to support the immersion school include the upcoming "Vrais Amis" ("True Friends") soiree. Sponsored by the Parents Association, the French wine tasting with silent and live auctions is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Portland Harbor Hotel. Information and tickets are available at the school's Web site, www.efdm.org. [ ]
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October 15, 2007 - Le Figaro
L'hymne américain en français dans le Maine
à L'OCCASION de la semaine de la francophonie, la législature du Maine célèbre aujourd'hui par une session solennelle des deux chambres en français sa journée annuelle franco-américaine. [ See Full Story ]
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March 29, 2007 - dailymotion.com
Reportage sur les francais dans le maine.
[ Watch Video ]
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June 25, 2006 - Radio-Canada.ca
Dimanche Magazine: La renaissance du français au M
Environ 5 % des habitants du Maine, aux États-Unis, parlent français à la maison. Langue honteuse jadis, le français retrouve aujourd’hui ses lettres de noblesse. [ See Full Story ]
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June 4, 2006 - The New York Times
Long-Scorned in Maine, French Has Renaissance
Frederick Levesque was just a child in Old Town, Me., when teachers told him to become Fred Bishop, changing his name to its English translation to conceal that he was French-American. [ See Full Story ]
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June 4, 2006 - The Consulate General of France in Boston
Evening Reception for the French School of Maine
Dear Friends, It is a pleasure for me to be here in Maine today. This morning I had the honor to cut the ribbon of the new buildings of the French School of Maine, and to meet the School’s young students, their parents, and the faculty. [ See Full Story ]
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September 7, 2005 - Portland Press Herald
At this school second language gets to go first
L'Ecole Française du Maine helps kids from preschool to third grade learn French by immersing them in it. [ See Full Story ]
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