ACADEMICS
Mission Statement
The French American International School cultivates intellect and character through rigorous multilingual academic programs in an environment that promotes appreciation of diverse cultures and experiences.
FAIS provides an education following the French national curriculum throughout the elementary school and adds to this a strong preparation in English. We seek to provide students with the “best of both” educational traditions: the French emphasis on rigorous preparation, high standards, and thorough knowledge and understanding of core subjects to provide students with a solid grounding in general culture, and the American emphasis that focuses on individual elements of creativity and imagination, development of the whole child, and a strong implication of parents in the life and work of the school. Both traditions value and emphasize the development of a sense of self in society — the rights and privileges, but also the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. The Gilkey International Middle School provides two programs. One is the continuation of the French immersion program. The other is a program run in English for students with no prior experience in French. Whether in one program or the other, the curriculum is essentially the same and the goals are similar to those outlined above. Students leave our middle school with a very solid preparation not only for high school, but also for university work and beyond.
