Excitement for the French American Academy (FAA) High School opening in Jersey City Heights is mounting. Planning has begun for the design and construction work that will take place at the new 118 Ferry Street location. This spacious and well-lit new campus will undergo significant interior design to ensure we have inspiring, flexible, and advanced learning spaces that match our unique private, bilingual, and International Baccalaureate (IB) Candidate* program.
The FAA leadership team has begun collaborating with architect Piero Gabucci to ensure we continue providing dynamic, modern, functional, and welcoming classroom design. This major investment in the growth of our school will include some contemporary educational spaces including:
- Two science labs
- A maker space
- Performing and visual arts areas
- A black box theatre
- A recording and audio-visual room
- A student lounge, as illustrated in the rendering below
One of the guiding ideas behind relocating the Middle School and opening the new High School at this new location is to provide a more adult-feeling learning environment that will help our students feel more autonomous and serious in their academic mindsets as they move toward High School graduation. These spaces are designed to be warm, inviting, collaborative, and flexible. That means that a classroom can transform into a cinema or a round table debate in a matter of moments. A black box theatre can transform into a film studio, a fashion runway, a dance studio with clever lighting, mirrors, and moveable seating. Every space has multiple potentialities, and this, both for students and teachers, opens the door to a myriad of learning applications and approaches.
Watch this space for photos and updates as work progresses. Click to find out more about the FAA High School or Apply now.
*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 the French American Academy believes is important for our students. Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programs. Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programs, visit www.ibo.org
