frequently asked questions

At what age can I apply for my child?

Children qualify for the PK program if they turn three by December 31 of the year enrolled. For MK, they must turn four by December 31, and for Kindergarten they must turn five by December 31. An individual observation is administered for class placement.

Do you offer a late immersion program for students entering the upper elementary or middle school with no formal French education?

Non-French-speaking students are admitted to the PK, MK, and Kindergarten classes, and to first grade on a case-by-case basis. Although students holding French nationality can apply at any level, it is our experience that students with no prior experience in a French school have a hard time keeping up with their peers if they arrive after first grade.

Do you follow the same curriculum as the other French schools in the Bay Area?

EB is accredited by the French Ministry of Education. For the French part of our program, we follow the same framework as other local, national, and international schools also recognized by the French Ministry of Education.

What if we don’t speak French?

Nearly half of our students arrive at EB without any previous exposure to French, and nearly all of them go on to excel in both languages. Our Maternelle classrooms create a welcoming environment where children can gradually become comfortable with French, and all of our programs are designed to support the academic success of all students regardless of the language spoken at home. In a recent survey of parents, families who did not speak French at home were just as satisfied with EB as French-speaking families.

What if we speak a third language at home?

Since bilingualism makes it easier to learn a third language, children whose families speak a language other than English or French tend to thrive at EB.

Will immersion in French affect my child’s reading ability in English?

The reading and study skills learned in French transfer into English. That is, once a child has grasped that letters make sounds, and sounds combine to make words, that skill is applicable to any language with the same alphabet. Between first and third grade, children in bilingual programs may have standardized test scores lower than the scores of children who are only mastering one language. From fourth grade on, however, our students consistently outperform their monolingual counterparts in standardized tests. Bilingualism enhances children’s understanding of the workings of language, and—since one-third of the words in English are of French origin—knowledge of French helps build vocabulary for reading in English.

How does your immersion program work?

Children in PK through second grade spend 80% of their school day with a French-speaking teacher, and 20% of the day with an English-speaking teacher. In addition, all of our Maternelle classrooms have a full-time bilingual teacher’s assistant. From third grade on, classroom time is divided equally between English and French.

How are your teachers credentialed?

All of the teachers in our French program are native speakers who were trained in France and hold credentials from the French Ministry of Education, and all of the teachers in our English program are credentialed by the State of California.