French Immersion Preschools Comparison...
Hi all! We are looking at enrolling our daughter in preschool in fall 2022 (she'll be around 2.5 years old) and are considering French immersion as my husband is from Europe and he and his family are fluent in French (as well as the language of their country of origin, but there's no immersion preschools in that language!) We're considering Les Petits Francophones, Au Beau Séjour, and Ecole Bilingue. We live in East Oakland so are leaning towards the first two, but I commute from Oakland to Richmond so Ecole Bilingue is a potential option as well, though I understand it's more expensive. Most of the posts about these schools are 3-4 years old. Any recent experiences, positive or negative? So far we've toured LPS and have virtual tours of the other two coming up. Thanks :)
Parent Replies
I can only speak to Ecole Bilingue. My son started there just shy of 3 years old, and he is now in 3rd grade. Though no one in our family speaks French, we chose EB because the preschool teachers are amazing. They are certified both in the US (where there are minimal requirements to be a preschool teacher) and in France, where they are certified to teach preschool through elementary school. Many of the EB preschool teachers have decades of teaching experience and a deep appreciation for the importance of early childhood learning. The EB community is welcoming, multilingual, and international. Also, the school is very well run, administration communicates well with parents and have been responsive when things have come up. They pivoted to online learning in a day (!) after the shelter in place orders took effect in March 2020, then came back in person with well thought-out plans, and have managed the tumultuous past 2 years splendidly. Most importantly, my son LOVES school.
Our son has been at ABS West Campus since he turned two and he is about to (gasp) turn five and graduate this summer. We have been so, so happy with the school. It is fairly structured, which is a good fit for my son, but they incorporate a lot of very thoughtful and creative activities -- art, gardening, chickens, cooking (less so since the pandemic, alas), etc. They just did a unit on trash and recycling and we got to send him to school with some empty containers to sort. One thing that drew us to the school initially was a civic-minded flavor that shows up in activities like that. Also, they give them lunch, which is such a luxury. It is also very well-organized and the communication is great. They are very responsive to questions via email, which I don't think is true at every school. The director, Coralie, is really incredible. She is very passionate about early childhood education and unbelievably motivated and energetic. I have been so in awe of how she adapted the school to the new normal during the pandemic and was able to keep it all going, keep everyone safe, and even grow the school during that time. I have the impression that she invests a lot in the well-being and development of the staff and we have been so happy to see one of the head teachers, Lillia, step into the role of assistant director as the school has grown. There is a lovely community of parents and just a relaxed vibe to the whole place. I don't know the exact numbers but I would estimate that at least 50-60% of the kids have a connection to French outside of school, so it is also a good place to connect with other francophone families. Before the pandemic, they would host big parties a few times a year for all the families to come and eat and hang out -- maybe that will come back one day. The bottom line is that we really trust Coralie and all the staff and we have been delighted to see our son grow and mature during his time there. Happy to chat by phone if there are specific questions I can answer!