Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans has secured commitments to return from at least 10 of its 18 teachers, meeting a threshold set by CODOFIL for the statewide agency to continue recruiting educators from France for the school, officials announced this week.
Last month, CODOFIL warned that so few teachers planned to return, the agency was reconsidering its commitment to fill vacancies at the school. With rapid changes planned for the school leadership in the coming weeks, that issue has now been resolved, according to a news release issued Thursday morning by Joseph Dunn of CODOFIL and Mike Pinkerton of LFNO:
LYCÉE FRANÇAIS AND CODOFIL RENEW PARTNERSHIP FOR 2013-14
Agency Pleased With School’s Progress in Leadership Changes and Teacher Commitments
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) will partner with Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans to recruit teachers certified in the French national curriculum and serve as visa sponsor for the 2013-14 school year, the state agency and school announced today. CODOFIL communicates that it is pleased with the school’s progress in implementing focused processes that will lead to the hiring of a permanent school leader and recruiting new members for its Board of Directors. Based upon these actions, CODOFIL has agreed to continue its relationship with Lycée Français.
“The school has adopted a host of positive changes to its governance structure and is on track to hire a permanent leader,” said Dr. William Arceneaux, CODOFIL’s Chairman. “All of this gives us the confidence to renew our partnership. We applaud the hard work and dedication of the school’s leaders, faculty and community to move the school in this positive direction, and we look forward to kicking off recruiting efforts for 2013-2014,” he added.
“We are pleased that CODOFIL will continue to recruit and provide necessary teachers for Lycée Français,” said Jean Montès, the school’s Board Chairman. “Our goal is to become the first pre-K to 12th grade public school in the United States to teach the national French curriculum in French, and CODOFIL is an important partner in accomplishing that mission,” he said.
The school’s leaders are still meeting with current teachers to gauge interest for next year, but they are very optimistic that many of the teachers will agree to return. After finalizing this process, the two groups will work together to ensureLycée Français will have the number of teachers necessary for the upcoming school year.
About The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana:
CODOFIL is Louisiana’s Office of Francophone Affairs. In accordance with its legislative mandate to preserve, promote, and develop Louisiana’s French and Creole heritage, culture, and language, CODOFIL strives to foster economic, educational, cultural, and professional opportunities in French for all Louisianians.
About Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans:
Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans is a charter school in New Orleans, Louisiana, presently serving students from PK-3 to second grade, with plans to add grades through high school. It is committed to teaching the French Ministry of Education’s National curriculum in a French-immersion setting. It is authorized and supervised by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and may accept students from any parish in Louisiana. For more information, see lfno.org.
[Note: A version of this article was first published at 4:28 p.m. Wednesday and updated at 1:35 p.m. Thursday upon receipt of the official news release from the school.]
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