PK - 12 Schools
Languages:
- French,French Creole
PreK-K | Iberia Parish School District | District school
District school
North Lewis Elementary School
New Iberia, Louisiana 70563
Our students are speaking French again. Institute Background
Upon first glance, a casual observer may not fully understand the importance of what is happening before them as they meander through the French Immersion Education classrooms at North Lewis Elementary School in New Iberia, Louisiana. However, we are awakening, deep within the DNA of our children, the hard-wired language of their not-so-distant ancestors. Once punished and forbidden to speak the native language of our grandparents and their ancestors who came into harsh, South Louisiana in the mid eighteenth century, this is no longer so. Our students are speaking French again.
Because it is so instinctively important to us, we have become a premier example of how immersion education should be. In 2016, we earned certification as a Louisiana World Language Immersion Site. We have earned the LabelFrancÉducation from the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Education. Our students have for the past eight years; have reached a 100% pass rate for the Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française, the only French foreign language diplomas issued by the French Ministry of Education.
Our teachers, over the years have traveled to us from nine francophone countries, and have brought with them their rich cultures to blend with our own rich culture of Creole, Spanish, and French heritage. They are the backbone of our efforts.
Lastly, through community partnerships with the likes of Centenary University, the University of Louisiana, the Council on the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) and the Louisiana Consortium of Immersion Schools, we have been able to provide our children with excellent learning opportunities outside of the confines of our campus' corridors. Currently, we are working with Centenary University to have our students' written work published. We are also in talks with a local newspaper to publish our students' writings.
- Access
- Accountability
- Keys to Access & Accountability
Improve Access for all learners in more languages
Actively Recruit HULs
Yes
Strategies to Recruit HULs
Local recruitment campaigns targeting specific communities or learners
Obstacles HULs Face
- Language availability
- Transportation
Specific practices that are the reasons your HULs enjoy success in your program
Practice 1
"Although, the target language of our school district's immersion setting is French, we do support the learning of Creole at North Lewis Elementary School. In recent years, three of our teachers have been fluent in Creole and came from the French Island of Guadeloupe and have taught our French Immersion students a daily thirty-minute enrichment session of Creole. Unfortunately, we do not currently have the teachers on staff, but we continue to work with Creole Incorporated, a local organization interested in maintaining the Creole language in South Louisiana.
"
Practice 2
To provide the maximum access to language learning for all students, we first establish no entry exam when students' parents register them for French Immersion Education at North Lewis Elementary School. We are open and inclusive to all who wish to take the leap of faith into language immersion education. The only requirement is to have a commitment to keeping their children in the immersion setting for the next seven years, through the sixth grade.
We begin our day with the targeted French language, providing our students, in most cases with over 100 minutes of instruction in the French language before 10:30 a.m. We provide no less than 30 minutes of French language instruction in all immersion classes prior to 10:30 a.m. Where we schedule our immersion minutes in the latter format, the larger block of immersion minutes will come in the afternoon.
We limit the number of transitions from one language to another to less than six during the school day. For example moving from a class taught in French to a lunch period is a transition away from the target language. We move our students from French into French as much as possible during the school day, intentionally keeping their brains functioning within the target language.
The signage of the school took quite an investment on our part. Where you see English, you typically see the French equivalent. We post our PBIS rules and expectations, our Mission Statement, and our general messages, etc., in English and in French. Our classroom walls reflect the majority of the instruction. Seventy-five percent of the wall space is reserved for French messaging. Only twenty-five percent of the space is available for English Language Arts instructional materials.
Increase Accountability by effectively meeting all learner needs
Assess Language Outcomes
- Council of Europe Framework of Reference (CEFR e.g. DELF, DELE)
- National language tests of home country (e.g. Chinese HSK, Russian TORFL/TRKI …)
- Other test based on nationally or internationally recognized proficiency scale (International Standards Organization (ISO) 29991:2013) (list);D.E.L.F. A2
Emphasize in Language Program
- Cultural Literacy
- Usage/immersion learning (teaching content through the target language)
- Heritage Language recovery & maintenance
Certain aspects of programming help ensure both Access and Accountability and merit more specific inquiry, including Teaching, Immersion Learning, and Partnerships.
Immersion Experience HULs
Yes
Program Partner with
- Heritage communities’ organizations
Institution Information
Urbanicity
Suburban
Levels
PreK-K
Groups Over 10%
African Americans
Obstacles HULs Face
Language availability
Transportation
Free & Reduced Lunch
72 %
Authorized IB World School
No
Title I School