French Immersion School of Washington (FISW)

Sending my kids to FISW is one of the best choices I have ever made for them. I have four children, all very different from each other in their learning styles and personalities, and each of them has excelled in both languages and they all absolutely love going to school each day. Every decision the school makes is about what is best for the children. The majority of my kids have class sizes of 13-14 kids in each class annually. The French teachers are hired from France and we have never had a teacher that is anything less than amazing and devoted. The teachers LOVE their jobs and the kids in their classes, which makes the learning environment positive.

From age 2 1/2, it is absolutely a great learning environment. Kids are taught things like independence and respect and accountability from the very beginning. By being accredited by the French government, WA state, Independent Schools, etc. their academic curriculum is well beyond anything I have ever seen, and yet... the kids love to learn because the school is focused on that love for learning.

Two of my children are adopted from another country and struggled with fitting in at their first exposure to school in their first country, but here they are excelling academically and socially in a diverse environment. They now fit in and feel accepted by all. And even though one child who missed years of early education had a lot of catching up to do, the teachers worked with him one-on-one, so that he has caught up to his grade level in two languages in less than two years. All of my kids literally beg me to stay for the after-school program activities. What kids ask for more school after being at school all day?? Only at FISW....

After 6 years at the school, I realize there is only one problem: It makes me jealous that my young kids are already fluent (with no accent) in a language that took me decades to learn and I now I have to ask them for help! :)

Our two children have attended FISW since preschool and have both become fluent in French, even mistaken for being native French speakers on our travels to France. In addition to being a fun and caring environment, the French curriculum challenges them to be confident and curious learners. We feel fortunate to have found the French Immersion School of WA when we started looking at preschool options.

Our daughter has had a great experience with the school, the teachers and the community. She is in third grade now and has been attending since preschool. She is fluent in French and does very well academically in both languages. We only speak English at home, so I am able to see that she is reading well about grade level in English and she loves to read for pleasure in both languages. Our experience has been that when our daughter had a difficult time early on, the school worked with us to find the best solution for her and her happiness. Now, a few years later she is flourishing, happy and loves school. We also have very positive experiences with the parent community. They are very involved and there are many opportunities to socialize and get to know families from all over the world.