Admissions Overview
Welcome to The French American Academy!
Dear Families,
A heartfelt warm welcome from the Admissions Office of The French American Academy!
Thank you for considering offering your child(ren) an international education at our French bilingual school in New Jersey!
At The French American Academy, your children, our students, will be immersed in an international environment, surrounded by a diverse community of cultures, languages, concepts, and ideas, which will challenge them to explore the world from a global perspective. Our goal is to educate our students as citizens of the world, empowering them to embrace challenges and contribute to making the world a better place. We aim to develop respectful, curious, healthy, and resilient future leaders. Our students are inspired to cultivate a growth mindset and wisdom that will enable them to lead fulfilled lives with integrity and purpose.
The FAA Admissions team is here to support you through the significant milestone of choosing a school for your child(ren), and this section will provide you with all practical information about our Admissions process.
We thank you for visiting our website and look forward to welcoming you at one of our campuses soon!
Warm regards,
Kalyana Maréchal, Ph.D,
Director of Admissions
High School Launch! Accepting Grade 9 Applications
Jersey City’s ONLY IB Candidate* High School
We are excited to announce the opening of our High School and are now accepting applications for Grade 9. Our High School welcomes students of all levels of French proficiency, from those with no prior knowledge of French to native speakers. The French American Academy is a Candidate School* for the Middle Years Program. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that FAA believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org.
How to Visit the School
In-Person Visit
During our 1hr in-person campus visits, you will:
- Meet our Administrators & Teachers
- Visit the campus & see the facilities
- Learn about our curriculum & teaching philosophy
- Ask any & all questions you may have
Virtual Info Session
During a 30 minute Virtual Information sessions, you will:
- Meet our Admission Director
- Learn about our curriculum and teaching philosophy
- Discuss whether the FAA is a good match for your child
- Ask any & all questions you may have
Upcoming Events & Tours
Information to Know Before Applying
Cutoff Date - Dec. 31st
At our French bilingual school in New Jersey, we adhere to the French cutoff date of December 31st. As a result, children born after October are eligible to enroll a year in advance.
Age Requirement
The earliest a student can enroll at The French American Academy is at 2 years and 6 months of age, in PreK-2.
You Don't Need to Speak French to Enroll
French knowledge is not a requirement to enter Preschool or Kindergarten.
Starting in 1st grade, we offer an Accelerated French Program (AFP) in both Elementary and Middle School for students with no prior knowledge of French. Strong English language skills and a willingness to learn are required, as the program is academically rigorous and fast-paced. Students who are bilingual or demonstrate strong language aptitude are considered strong candidates for the program.
Potty-Training
Children entering PreK-3 are required to be potty trained, but it is not required for PreK-2.
Recommendation Form & Report Card
We require parents to provide us with a teacher’s recommendation if a student attended a previous preschool or daycare. Starting from 1st grade, we also require report cards at our French bilingual school in new jersey.
Applying
Please visit our Steps To Apply page for more information on the admissions process to our French bilingual school in new jersey
2025-26
Applications are being accepted.
2026-27
Applications will start being accepted in summer 2025.
- Please Select the Desired Campus to Apply -
Why The French American Academy?
Well-Rounded Curriculum
We go beyond academics with overnight and weeklong field trips to the Arizona desert, New Orleans’ lagoon, historic sites in Quebec, and much more!
Math & Science-Focused
With dedicated STEM teachers, a math club, and our applied math curriculum, our students are challenged to understand what makes the world function.
Structured Learning
Our play/project-based approach engages student to collaborate and to develop innovative solutions to real world problems.
True Bilingual Education
Our bilingual curriculum not only allows our students to speak, read, write, count, & think in both languages, but it also gives students a cognitive & cultural edge over their peers.
Highly Trained Teachers
Our teachers have a minimum of 3+ years of experience, a masters degree, and they are ALL native speakers of French and English language.
Accredited Education
Our accreditation by both the French & American education authorities demonstrating our commitment to meeting the highest standards in French & American education.
Behind the Scenes at the FAA
📚 Bilingual Wednesday: Comparative Grammar with Shapes and Colors
In Grades 4 and 5, students are strengthening their bilingual skills through comparative grammar – an approach that helps them understand how French and English each structure meaning in unique ways.
To make these patterns clear and accessible, teachers use colors and shapes to visually represent the building blocks of each sentence.
For example:
Pronouns are circles
Adjectives are clouds
Verbs are a red arrow
Feminine is orange
By assigning a color and shape to each part of speech, students can see how a sentence is built, then compare that structure across languages.
A sentence in English like “The small dog runs quickly” might be reordered in French as “Le petit chien court vite” – same elements, different structure.
This visual method supports deeper comprehension, especially for students who are still developing abstract language skills. It also helps learners internalize grammatical rules, reinforce word order, and become more confident writers and speakers in both languages.
Comparative grammar is not just about translating, it’s about recognizing patterns, building language awareness, and training the brain to switch between systems with accuracy and ease.
#BilingualWednesday #ComparativeGrammar #VisualLearning #GrammarWithColors #FrenchAndEnglish #BilingualEducation #FrenchAmericanAcademy #MetalinguisticAwareness #MultilingualLearners #GrammarInColor #AcademicExcellence #UpperElementary #LanguageStructure
Our new Middle and High School campus is coming together! While we can’t share all the details just yet since there`s still a lot of work in progress, we couldn’t resist giving you this sneak peek. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes updates coming soon! 🎉 🚧 📚
For Middle School, we offer a Bilingual Track for French speakers, as well as an Accelerated French Program that is accredited by both French and American authorities. This program is open to students, regardless of whether they have prior French experience.
For High School: Our IB Middle Years Program (MYP) candidate track also welcomes beginners in French.
🚨 Don’t forget to register for an open house today to learn more! Link in bio.
🌍 International Education Tuesday 🌍
Antoine and his dad brought Singapore 🇸🇬 to our 2nd-grade classroom with a special presentation about this vibrant, multicultural city-state in Asia.
Through their stories and visuals, our students discovered what daily life looks like on the other side of the world from modern skyscrapers to food markets and traditions shaped by a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Western influences.
Thank you both for sharing your family’s roots and expanding our understanding of global cultures.
These firsthand moments make geography real and help our students grow into curious, open-minded learners. 🌏✨
#InternationalEducation #SingaporeInClass #GlobalCitizenship #BilingualSchool #FrenchAmericanAcademy #WorldReadyKids #2ndGradeExplorers #CulturalAwareness
Week 4 of our summer camp delivered two unique cultural adventures! (There’s still time to join the fun this summer; register for the remaining camp sessions today!)
Englewood Campus – Bastille Day Theme
➤ Campers dove into French history, learning the story of the Bastille and expanding their vocabulary with fresh French words.
➤ Older students crafted tricolor cockades 🎨 and built a miniature Bastille from recycled materials 🏰.
➤ Everyone sang “La Marseillaise,” read The Princess of the Birds 📚, and the youngest children made pop‑up cards showing the Bastille rising.
➤ We wrapped up the week with each camper designing a personal crown 👑 to celebrate “liberté, égalité, fraternité” in style.
Jersey City Campus – Europe: Monaco Theme
➤ In Jersey City, preschoolers planned a pretend trip to Monaco with Ms. Chloé, complete with handmade passports, boarding passes ✈️, and bright race‑car art 🏎️.
➤ Kindergarten through fourth grade built 3‑D race cars inspired by the Monaco Grand Prix, discovered soccer stars from AS Monaco ⚽, and mapped the tiny country’s geography 🗺️.
➤ Both groups whipped up strawberry‑and‑cream Monaco fraise mille‑feuille 🍰
Prince Albert’s rumored favorite dessert. A Togetherhood “Singing in the City” workshop added French Sign Language, puppet fun, sing‑alongs, and homemade percussion shakers 🪇.
We finished it all off with a refreshing splash‑pad cooldown at Hamilton Park 💦.
🧠 Math Monday: Peer Challenges to Deepen Mathematical Thinking
In Grade 2, students took on peer-led math challenges, working individually or in teams to solve problems, explain their reasoning, and build confidence through collaboration.
These challenges go beyond rote learning. They strengthen logical thinking, mental math, and communication skills by encouraging students to justify their answers and learn from one another.
Whether tackling number operations or multi-step problems, students are developing essential strategies for independent and group problem-solving. Peer learning fosters not just stronger math skills, but also critical thinking, resilience, and ownership of learning.
#MathMonday #Grade2Math #PeerLearning #ProblemSolvingSkills #MathChallenges #BilingualEducation #FrenchAmericanAcademy #AcademicExcellence #MentalMath #STEMSkills #CollaborativeLearning
🧊 Project-Based Saturday: How Does Ice Melt?
In Englewood’s PK3 classroom, students explored the science of melting ice through a hands-on, co-teaching project.
Guided by both their French and English teachers, they asked a simple but powerful question: What makes ice melt faster?
Using different tools like warm water, cold water, salt, and even time, students made predictions, tested their ideas, and observed the results.
Through this bilingual investigation, they practiced vocabulary in both languages – chaud, froid, sel – while learning how to compare outcomes and draw conclusions.
This early science project helped students develop observation skills, early critical thinking, and an understanding of cause and effect. It also encouraged curiosity, teamwork, and using language to describe what they see and learn.
#ProjectBasedLearning #EarlyScience #PK3Learning #BilingualEducation #FrenchAmericanAcademy #CoTeaching #ScientificThinking #HandsOnLearning #ObservationSkills #STEMForYoungLearners #LearningThroughDiscovery #EnglewoodCampus
How Is an IB Lesson Different From a Traditional One?
At the French American Academy, IB lessons don’t start with “Here’s what you need to know”, they begin with a real question like:
💬 “How does water scarcity impact different communities around the world?”
Students research, compare perspectives from different countries, and explore solutions across science, geography, and ethics – all in two languages.
Instead of just memorizing a science definition or filling out worksheets, students:
🔍 Conduct their own experiments
🌎 Connect what they learn to global and local issues
🤝 Work in groups to discuss and present their findings
✏️ Reflect on how their actions affect others
Traditional lessons often focus on memorizing facts, sticking to one subject at a time, and relying on the teacher for answers. IB learning, by contrast, builds independent thinkers who know how to ask good questions, analyze complex ideas, and collaborate with others.
This approach doesn’t just help with academics; it helps students become confident, curious learners who are ready for the real world.
➡️ Explore how the IB difference shapes our High School classrooms: https://faacademy.org/high-school/ (link in bio)
Project-Based Learning! The second graders worked on their science models, transforming months of biome research into three-dimensional displays. Each team created a diorama that showcased the plants, animals, and climates they studied in class. They concluded the project by presenting their work to the class!
Frequently Asked Questions
At our French bilingual school in new jersey, the Admissions Process is comprised of 3 steps :
- Online Application ($140 application fee)
- Admissions Interview (Both with Parents/Guardians and Child)
- Notification of Decision
For more details please visit our Steps to Apply Page.
Yes, we accept students during the year, given the availability of spots.
