San Diego French American School

Staying at SDFAS was the worst mistake we could have done! There is not a curriculum in place and each new year feels like arriving to a new school since each teacher has her own methodology and expectations which conflict with the previous teacher you just had. Teachers do not stay for long so there is constant transition! The students get confused and there is not a systematic curriculum to follow. We had a terrible English teacher in 3rd grade and the administration did not do anything about it even with numerous complaints from parents. This was a total lost year for us. The middle school is even worse and this is why very few children (mostly the French who need to go back to France) stay in the school. This school will not prepare your children for a competitive Lycee, and even less for a good american middle or high school. It is all based on constant testing, but no reflection. The English department needs a curriculum coordinator to train incoming inexperienced teachers. It is a hit and miss depending on how qualified is the new teacher. Some, I would never recommend. I cannot say that students learned effectively in this kind of environment.

My child began attending this school in in preschool. I kept her in this school till the sixth grade. This was a HUGE mistake. To be honest she has a very limited understanding of French. What a pity! The teachers may have Master's degrees, but believe me they do not have the education in how to teach an English speaker French. I know this now because I have sent my youngest daughter to another bilingual school to learn Chinese. (I still believe it is an asset to be bilingual). My youngest daughter is in the first grade and she understands Chinese at a deeper level then my oldest understood French by third grade!. This is because the foundations of the language at the Chinese school were so clearly and competently taught to my youngest while my oldest was put in a very confusing incompetent plan to teach a second language.This realization fills me with remorse that my older daughter had to suffer with the inadequacy of San Diego French American school for so long! This is a poor school. Do not waste your money or your precious child's time. Education is the greatest gift you can give your child and there are alternative bilingual schools in San Diego that are much better!
--Submitted by a parent

SDFAS is an excellent school. The benefits of bilingual immersion is the first obvious advantage. But in addition they have a very rich program, a multicultural and wonderful community and one of the most important factors for us the teachers and staff are really caring and qualified. Their teachers have a MAster's degree. Our children love going to school and we feel they are learning a lot. We are not french speakers and yet my son is having no trouble whatsover following the curriculum. I would highly recommend the school. Request a tour and look at the huge sports field, computer lab, science lab etc.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is amazing in its Pre school education starting with the 2 yr old PKO! It was the best decision we made to let our little one start at age 2 -5 days a week - he is surrounded by diverse - well rounded children - You should request a tour to see the environment that your child would learn.
--Submitted by a parent

My two children have attended the SDFAS for 6 years. The first four years were great but as they entered middle school, we found the education to be poor. My son graduated from SDFAS in June 2008 and continued his studies in French at the Lycee. SDFAS does not properly prepare kids for either French or English High Schools like they say they do. We found out the hard way. While my son was an 'A' student at SDFAS, he has been struggling the entire first semester to reach the Lycee level. We kindly made the school aware of these findings so they can look into this ... but the French are too proud. I recently transferred my daughter to the American middle school and are dealing with the same problem. She is behind in English math and US history. I do not recommend this school at the higher grades.
--Submitted by a parent

My children have been going to the SDFAS for 5yrs. We are an English speaking family. Both of my children are completely bi-lingual. The school is growing which is fantastic. The current Kindergarten class is at a record breaking high. My children really look forward to going to school in the morning to see there friends. We love the fact that they know each of their class mates so well and have know them for a long time. We love having such a close knit community of people for our kids to grow up with. The teachers are always willing to help. If you are looking to give your child an bi-lingual education, this is a great school to do it at.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is really for two types of people. The first type is for people who already know french. The second type is for people who don't know french but are willing to pay tutors and go to a french speaking country so their children can learn the language. This school does not have a comprehensive program to help English speaking only families, you're on your own. Around 3rd grade is when many English speaking only parents leave because they discover their children will not become fluent in french by just going to this school.
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children at the school and have been part of the community of the school for four years now. My experience has been that the quality of the teachers is exceptional. They are well educated, they care about the kids, and they are easy to communicate with. The school is growing, and has some minor growing pains, but the community of the school is rich. Parents often stay to talk after dropping off the kids - an added bonus is that school events that are pot luck are often conucopias of exciting French and ethnic foods from around the world (and not re-heats from cost-co). We love the school and wish it great success.
--Submitted by a parent

A school where kids learn how to make their own creative answers instead of just checking boxes...
--Submitted by a parent

My three children attended this school for 6 years. Apart from it having been a fantastic experience (great atmosphere, good friends, a wonderful teaching and admin staff) they were very well prepared academically for both the French and American educational systems. They are now completely bilingual. My oldest child is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in high school, and the other 2 are in another French school -- in another city -- which they find not as challenging as the SDFAS.
--Submitted by a parent