At the October 8 board meeting administrators from Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle Orleans considered partnering with the city’s French Alliance to offer French language courses to Lycee parents.
“More than 150 parents (responded that they) want the classes,” Jean-Jacques Grandiere, Lycee’s General Director, told the school’s board of directors at their Oct. 8 meeting.
Grandiere said classes would cost $88 per person for an 8-week period. Classes would be held for an hour a week and taught by members of the French Alliance. Grandiere also said French teachers at Lycee will take English-speaking classes as professional development, and added that some teachers who are less fluent in English have assistants to help translate conversations with parents.
First and second grade students will begin to take classes at a satellite classroom at the Audubon Zoo this month, and administrators had tried to devise a way to transport students participating in after-school programs back to campus.
A free shuttle runs from the zoo and can drop students off about two blocks from campus, Grandiere said. That would leave two teachers with the task of rounding up 15-20 students for the short walk. Board members raised safety concerns about the proposal. As an alternative, board chairman Jean Montes suggested that the after-school programs for those students could be held at the zoo.
Finance director Julianne Ruocco said she intends to regularly present detailed finance reports at the monthly board meetings. Compiling that information for distribution, however, will mean pushing back board meeting dates to later in the month, she said.
Board members appeared to favor the proposal, but took no action to change board meeting dates. Auditors are scheduled to arrive next week and report on the school’s audit before the end of the year.
In other business, board members said the school is still looking to better connect with members of the community. In addition to having Lycee teachers work on art projects with the French Alliance, board members suggested holding French film nights on an outdoor screen at the school.
The next meeting is set for Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Patton St. campus.