About the French Program
The International Studies (IS) program
The International Studies (IS) Program is an international dual language acquisition program implemented throughout grades K-12 as a collaborative effort with the Ministries of Education of France. This collaboration promotes a rigorous international academic program in which students are immersed in a Modern Language as they learn core subjects in the second language, resulting in a curriculum that emphasizes competency in a foreign language, student-centered learning, and global perspective.
The International Studies (IS) Program combines the best of what American and European schools have to offer.
- The IS program provides two to three hours of daily language instruction.
- In the upper grades, it often includes math or history taught in the foreign language as well.
The International Education (IE) program
The International Education (IE) Program immerses students in a multicultural education that promotes global competence. Most IE programs also emphasize learning a second language.
It’s not as intense as that of the IS program, it gives students just one hour of foreign language instruction per day.
Source : www.yourchoicemiami.org/school-choice-options/international-programs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Homologation?
- Miami-Dade county public schools and France have an agreement whereby an American homologated school curriculum is approved by the French Ministry of Education.
- Currently, ISCHS is the only school in the Miami-Dade system which is homologated by France. FIPA has played a large part in obtaining and maintaining this certification.
What is the Label FrancEducation?
- Label FrancEducation is a seal of quality for French dual language education awarded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its Agency for French Education Abroad.
- There are 36 schools in the United States that have received this recognition, including our own Coconut Grove Elementary School, Sunset Elementary School, G.W. Carver Middle School, and ISPA (the only schools in Florida to do so).
- The accreditation requires at least 20% of the weekly teaching hours dedicated to the french program. Teachers must be highly qualified and fluent in French.
What is the DELF?
- The DELF and DALF are diplomas awarded by the French Ministry of Education to prove the French-language skills of non-French candidates or even French students who didn’t come from homologated schools.
- High school students in the IS program are qualified to sit for the DELF exam, but exams must be taken in a certified exam center. Alliance Française is now offering to take the exams.