Views about FASRI
These comments about the school offer an insight into families' experiences while still at FASRI and beyond:
"We believe that a bilingual education prepares children for the modern world in a unique way. Not only will our daughter be able to speak more than one language, she will have a deeper appreciation of diversity and a strong commitment to intercultural understanding. We are thrilled with what FASRI has done for her intellectually, socially and developmentally."
"My family's experience with FASRI has been nothing but positive since 1997. For the last eight years we have enjoyed watching our daughter grow and cherish her school, teachers and friends more and more every year. We truly believe that growing in such a great and diverse atmosphere has a lot to do with Angela being tolerant and caring towards others. We are very proud of her achievements every year and we have a lot of admiration for the commitment of the entire FASRI staff."
"We were eager for our daughter to learn another language while it would be easy for her, and also to put her in a school where multilingual children from different countries were the norm. The notion of bilingual education really appealed to us.
It became clear as time went on that our daughter was indeed speaking and thinking in French, and being taught according to an excellent educational system. Of course, we had to learn how it worked; at times, we worried that she wasn't being exposed to things we would have expected, in ways that we recognized. But as we watched her develop, we learned to trust the internal logic that drives the French curriculum, and to appreciate that the fact that all teachers are trained in it. In some ways we get the best of two worlds with the rigor of the French approach moderated by the flexibility of American teaching. For our daughter, material learned in one language transferred easily to the other.
She graduated in 2004, and is now at a private school in Providence. Thanks to FASRI, she was successful in gaining admittance not just to a competitive school, but to her first choice. Her preparation has enabled her to easily keep up with the American curriculum."
"Often people ask us why we send our children to a French school when we, their parents, do not speak French. There are many reasons, but the most important are that we know the value of second language acquisition with respect to the brain development of a young child is phenomenal. As well, language acquisition (and literacy), in addition to the social and cultural learning (not only French, but African, Canadian, and European) and appreciation is essential to the next generation as we continue to develop as a global society. Equally important to us is the enthusiasm, energy and commitment of the administration, teaching staff, parents and children which creates a diverse, dynamic, interactive learning community."
"My daughter is now midway through her first year at Providence Country Day and all my fears are finally put to rest. She is the only student in class to have learned the decimal system, and to have used a protractor and compass. Her school advisor marvels that her critical thinking is much different than the other children. Her views and interpretations in class are unique. That she adds a new dimension to the classroom. The advisor stated that my daughter is the second child from FASRI to pass through her classroom. She is impressed at how diverse and cultural these children are. She made it through with virtually no help from me. Her success is her own."
"One of our initial draws to the school was of course the fully accredited bilingual education. Beyond the bilingual benefits, FASRI has also provided a unique multi-cultural experience with a vision of the world that is expansive and diverse. Within the curriculum the children are immersed in French and English. They are exposed to other cultures through the use of both traditional teaching methods and the use of art, music, and movement. Two of our children have now transitioned, very well, to the American system (Barrington Middle School). Their knowledge and skills have been either on par with or superior to those of their classmates."
