It is with increased stamina and on top form that the French heritage Language Program is tackling this new academic year. For one, the 2012 edition of the French Heritage summer camp was a resounding success. 19 students from 8 different High Schools in New York (located in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn) spent 10 days in Quebec, taking part in the Forum Mondial de la Langue Française. Organized by the Organisation Internationale de La Francophonie (OIF), the Forum gave our students the unique opportunity to exchange with French-speaking students from 100 different countries, taking part in round tables and workshops dedicated to the future of the French language in the world. The trip was a rich occasion for our students to be totally immersed into French, while discovering new Francophone cultures and making the most of their own cultural heritage. We thank again our generous sponsors and contributors who helped us make this great adventure happen: the OIF, the Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques and the Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation. Please read our complete summer camp report on our website.

The 2012-2013 academic year kicks off with brand new partnerships and the opening of new French Heritage Language classes throughout New York City. Two High Schools in the Bronx (Crotona International High School and Claremont International High School) are now offering a French Heritage afterschool class 2 hours a week. 6 other International high schools continue the program with increased hours of French during the regular school days, on top of our traditional afterschool classes. This is the case of Lafayette International High School in south Brooklyn, which now offers 5 hours of French, including preparation to the AP French exam. Bronx International High School has also chosen to double its offer with 4 hours of French, again with AP French prep. All of our partner high schools now award high school credits and have their French Heritage students take the SAT 2 French and/or AP French, which are both highly valued in the world of higher education (the AP French can get students college credits). Furthermore, taking French at school also allows students to earn an Advanced Regents Diploma, thanks to the learning of a language other than English.

The French Heritage Language Program is also present at the elementary New York French American Charter school (NYFACS), with 5 hours of classes every day for all levels, included in the school’s general curriculum. Classes continue at the Malian Cultural Center (UMACA) in north Bronx, as well as in 4 churches of the Canarsie district, Brooklyn, with our partner Haitian Americans in Action.

The French heritage Language Program is today present in 4 states: New York, Florida, Maine and Massachusetts, and currently serves 550 students from elementary to high school levels.

Learn more about us at: http://www.facecouncil.org/fhlp/index.html

Benoit Le Devedec, Coordinator of the French Heritage Language Program