NYFACS: A French American Charter School in West Harlem

NYFACS Located on West 120th street in Harlem 

One may not have to look to far to find bilingual schools located in the neighborhood. If you are looking for a bilingual French-English program located in Harlem, the New York French American Charter School or NYFACS may be worth exploring. NYFACS opened its doors in 2010 in West Harlem offering a bilingual language immersion program in French, catering to its community of French-speakers. Families come from many different countries around the world and the school emphasizes programs focusing on the development of global and cultural diversity. Interestingly, it is the only free bilingual French charter school in the U.S. 

One thing we noticed about this school is the amount of space available. The school has four floors with a number of classrooms that are painted with bright colors. Student work is a common theme as you walk down the hallways, usually displaying what students have learned about the two cultures. The school currently offers programs for grades K-5, but has plans on expanding to K-12. 

Classrooms are bright and spacious with enough space for students to hang their belongings. Currently classrooms have anywhere from 15-25 students, 25 being the max. 

The library is full of books in French and English 

Students are exposed to French language in all grades, however there is a heavy emphasis on French in the lower school (K-2) where 80% of instruction is in the target language. All teachers who speak French are native speakers.  

As students move to the upper school (grades 3-5) the level of language instruction becomes 50% French and 50% English

Student Artwork 

Different cultures embraced at NYFACS

Brandi Fluent, the administrative assistant who gave us a tour of the school, emphasized that they are focused on building a truly global perspective by developing knowledge and understanding of cultures throughout the world. The staff has a diverse background as well, including native French speakers who come from various countries. These teachers can provide different perspectives and are able to share their experiences with their students. 

To learn more about this school please visit their website at http://www.nyfacs.net/ or contact them by phone at (212)666-4134.

Thank you again NYFACS for having us!