ADMINISTRATION & FACULTY
Jean-François Genay, Head of School
Mr. Genay has been an involved educator for nearly 40 years. He began teaching at the Lycée Français de New York in 1967 and became assistant principal within two years. He also taught at the United Nations International School, and served as the Coordinator of the French Program there. He then moved to become the Head of School at the Lycée International in Michigan. Later he was a teacher and Head of the French Section at the Sunset International High School in Miami, Florida.
In 1993 he crossed the continent to become Head of School for our own French American School. He served as Head from 1993-2000, leading the school through the development of the Gilkey International Middle School and a successful capital campaign to purchase land and provide a permanent home for FAIS. He left FAIS with plans of retirement, only to find that inactivity didn't suit him. His projects included development consulting as well as becoming Executive Director of the Lycée International de Los Angeles. He returned to FAIS in 2005.
Pam Dreisin, Associate Head of School/Head-Elect
Pam has been involved in Independent School education for over 15 years. Her early years were spent right here at FAIS, when she served as the chair of the FAIS Board of Trustees, co-chaired our first successful Capital Campaign, and eventually as the Assistant Head of School. She then spent eight years at Oregon Episcopal School, a PreK-12 independent school with 835 students, where she served as the Assistant Head of School focusing on institutional advancement. She returned to FAIS in 2008 as Associate Head of School/Head-Elect, once again teaming with Jean-François Genay to lead FAIS through its next phase of strategic development. Pam has a Master of Science degree in Cellular & Molecular Biology, is a founding Board member of the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals (AISAP) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS).
Emmanuelle Burk, Head of Middle School
Emmanuelle Burk has been a teacher since 1987 and holds the French Ministry of Education Teaching Certificate and an M.A. in English Linguistics. Her teaching experience includes five years at St. Mary's Academy in Portland. She has taught at FAIS since 1995, and has served as Head of the Gilkey International Middle School since its inception in 1998. She occasionally still teaches middle school courses.
Jocelyne Lemoine, Head of Elementary School
Trained as a Primary French Teacher in Nantes, France, Jocelyne Lemoine began her career as a pre-kindergarten teacher in France. Using music, arts, and sports to help children with learning difficulties achieve academic success, she opened her school outward by taking her students on a daily basis to museums, theatres, concerts, and shopping malls, and by inviting professionals such as writers, firemen, soccer players, and opera singers to discuss their professions. Later, she was headmistress of a 15-class school in Nantes, France, and was a part-time teacher in a 3rd and 4th grade class.
Abroad, she has held positions in teaching and promoting French in Europe, in Africa and in the US, including Course Director of the French Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Linguistic Counsellor for the Training of Secondary and University Teachers of French for the French Embassy in Uganda. In the early 80s, she introduced the first French immersion program in Louisiana in a public school in Baton Rouge. For the last two years, she was the Education Advisor for the Promotion of French at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Faculty
There are over ninety faculty members, administrators, assistants and aides at FAIS. All of the teachers are certified. The French teachers hold either the French Ministry of Education Teaching Certificate or the Belgian Teaching Certificate which are equivalent to a B.A. in Education and act as permanent teaching certification. Some also hold the French teaching certificate known as “Professeur d'école” which is equivalent to an M.S. Ed.
Teachers or administrators are members of the following organizations:
Oregon Library Association
International Society of Technology in Education
Oregon Educational Technology Consortium
National Council of Teachers of English
National Middle School Association
Fulbright Alumni Association
Phi Beta Kappa
The Missouri Bar Association
National Science Teachers Association
National Association of Biology Teachers
Association of Teachers of German
Oregon Reading Association
Association for Childhood Education International, Oregon
(English Dept. Head is current President of the Oregon Chapter)
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Association Pour la Promotion de l'Ecriture et de la Lecture (APPEL)
National Association of Social Workers
Association Française de Lecture
