“It was not only very nice to see him having his own life, but also to witness an environment in which he could feel so comfortable having deeper conversations with adults aside from his teachers.” – Alexis Ahiekpor-Dravi, Englewood Campus Parent
Q: What is your family background, and what languages are spoken at home? What motivated you to choose a bilingual French American school for Yuki?
My name is Alexis, and I am happily married to Tomoko. We respectively moved to the United States from France in 2008 and from Japan in 2015, and were then graced with our son, Yuki, who was born in California in 2019. We moved to Brooklyn shortly after his birth and eventually settled in Teaneck, a choice mainly driven by our school search. Yuki started 1st grade in September, which is his 4th year at the French American Academy of Englewood.
At home, my wife exclusively speaks Japanese with Yuki, while I only use French with him. My wife and I use Japanese to communicate with each other, which means, for better or worse, that Yuki has no English exposure at all at home. There were several motivations that made bilingual schools an obvious choice for us. Firstly, Yuki did not know a word of English when he started, so we were hoping that he would be able to piggyback on one of his “known” languages to feel comfortable at school. Secondly, we wanted Yuki to have a fair shot at true fluency in his native tongues. I thought it important for us to speak in our native languages to make sure our communication with him was as authentic and close to the heart as possible, not only in phrasing and pronunciation, but also in small physical cues that we might not be conscious of. Thirdly, we thought it would be an opportunity to give him a beautiful gift that may advantage him in many ways throughout life, making it easier to learn languages or possibly even to learn in general, and opening up his options later in life.
We were initially split between choosing a bilingual French-American education or a Japanese-American education. We eventually settled on the former, mostly because we were very convinced by the FAA’s approach to meshing both cultures. Our impression of the full-time Japanese schools we visited was that they were more focused on creating a fully immersive experience in Japanese culture. Although this looked great, we did not want Yuki to miss out on American culture, despite being born and growing up here. As a consequence, we settled on full-time schooling at the FAA and one day of Japanese school on the weekend.
Q: Can you share a memorable moment, teacher, activity, or achievement Yuki has experienced at the FAA?
I remember being very pleased one day when I saw Yuki take the initiative to strike up a conversation with Radia from the FAA in her office, and how he was curiously asking her many follow-up questions. It was not only very nice to see him having his own life, but also to witness an environment in which he could feel so comfortable having deeper conversations with adults aside from his teachers.
Another memorable moment that comes to mind is this year’s Spirit Run. I registered to run with Yuki, thinking it would be easy running with a six-year-old, but things did not go that way. In the middle of the race, I was struck by a mix of intense awe at how impressive his performance was and a small tinge of dread at the thought that he might continue to impress me until the end of the full 24 minutes, as taking it easy while he was doing his best was not an option. All jokes aside, it was an incredible moment to see him starting to do things that wildly exceeded my expectations, and the kind of things I was able to do at his age. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to witness this with my own eyes (and burning lungs).
Q: How has Yuki’s bilingual education at the FAA shaped his interests, growth, or confidence for the future?
Yuki has developed a very deep interest in his Japanese ancestry and feels a great deal of pride in being able to speak Japanese, which has led him to become more curious about many other aspects of Japanese culture. He has also expressed interest in living in Japan in the future.
Q: What aspects of the FAA community or school environment have been most meaningful for your family?
The engagement of the teachers is something that I have continuously been incredibly impressed by and grateful for every single year. I truly believe that they are not willing to leave any child behind and will do their utmost to overcome any challenge. I am also very impressed by the fact that teachers newly joining the team are, right off the bat, doing a fantastic job and giving the impression that they have always been there.
We also feel very fortunate to have such a warm and relaxed atmosphere among parents.
I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute, even in a small way, to the PTO, as joining it really helped me feel more involved with the school and better able to support my son, Yuki, when he was struggling to get accustomed to school.
Q: What activities does your family enjoy together (hobbies, volunteer work, sports teams)? How do these activities bring your family closer?
Yuki is taking weekly group piano lessons at the Yamaha Conservatory in Fair Lawn. At his age, parents must join in to support their child, which is very nice. On the other nights of the week, we practice the piano together for 30 minutes.
From time to time, we go to ballet shows, and every year we see The Nutcracker at least once, as Yuki enjoys dancing a lot. We also attend classical music concerts, go to the movie theater, visit the Liberty Science Center, museums, and more. Taking ballet classes is something that has really helped Yuki have a breakthrough in feeling more comfortable in groups and socializing with other kids, thanks to his love of music and dancing.
Every year, we spend a few weeks of our summer in Japan, during which we enjoy many family activities, including going to Sanrio Puroland, a theme park filled with characters that Yuki loves dearly, such as Hello Kitty.
Q: Do you have a favorite FAA memory you’d like to share?
Yuki’s Kindergarten end-of-the-year show was a very nice memory, as he seemed to be glowing while performing. The teachers did an impressive job with the choreography, costumes, and props
