L'Etoile French Immersion School

Children who learn a second language through full immersion develop a relationship with that language that is categorically different from what classroom instruction alone can produce. Rather than translating back and forth between two linguistic systems, immersion students absorb the second language through consistent exposure, meaningful context, and the natural neurological processes of a developing brain. Immersion students demonstrate superior listening and study skills, score higher in reading and mathematics, and develop a broader, more nuanced understanding of the world around them. Immersion is not a method. It is the closest approximation, outside of living in another country, of how human beings are actually designed to learn language.

L’Etoile French Immersion School in Portland offers a full French immersion education for children beginning at age 2 through 5th grade. We provide a French Ministry of Education-accredited bilingual French-English program rooted in French language, culture, and pedagogical tradition. For families in Portland seeking a genuinely immersive French education for their child, L’Etoile is in a category of its own.

L’Etoile follows the curriculum of the French Ministry of Education, one of the most rigorous and comprehensively developed educational frameworks in the world. The curriculum is organized into multi-year cycles designed to honor the reality that learning unfolds at a different pace and in a different way for every child. The preschool years, known as the maternelle, are divided into three stages: Petite Section (preschool), Moyenne Section (Pre-K), and Grande Section (kindergarten). From there, students progress through Primary School, covering 1st through 5th grade, known in the French system as CP through CM2. At least 90% of our teachers hold certification through the French Ministry of Education, ensuring that the curriculum is delivered with the authenticity and expertise it demands.

L’Etoile is not an American school with a French language elective. It is a French school, operating in Portland, accredited by the French Ministry of Education, and committed fully to the French educational system. The preschool years are treated not as a warm-up to real education but as the foundational stage of the entire system, taught by credentialed educators who understand precisely what they are building and why. The difference is not merely linguistic. It is philosophical, structural, and profound.

Yes. L’Etoile French Immersion School is fully accredited by the French Ministry of Education, an accreditation that places our program within the official educational framework of France and holds our school to the standards of one of the world’s most respected educational systems.

Full-day kindergarten at L’Etoile offers something that no half-day program can replicate: sufficient time for a child to truly inhabit a language. Kindergarten at L’Etoile is taught entirely through French immersion. The results are extraordinary: by the end of kindergarten, most L’Etoile students speak conversational French. This is not an accelerated outcome or an exceptional result. It is what happens when children are given time, immersion, and a teacher who knows how to create the conditions for language to take root. A full day is not a longer school day. It is the difference between exposure and acquisition.

Private school offers smaller classes, a richer curriculum, and the freedom to move at the pace that genuine learning requires. At L’Etoile, that depth happens in two languages at once, within an educational framework accredited by the French Ministry of Education and shaped by centuries of pedagogical tradition. Our students exchange letters with pen pals in France, building real relationships in a language they are learning to love. Our 4th graders explore the San Juan Islands. Our 5th graders travel to France, because a language you have never spoken outside a classroom is a language you have never truly spoken at all. L’Etoile is private education with a destination. Explore more of what makes us singular on our Only At page.

L’Etoile follows the academic calendar of public schools in France — five teaching periods punctuated by breaks in October, December, February, and April. Select national holidays are observed, including Labor Day, MLK Day, and Memorial Day. Optional, fee-based care is available during the October and February breaks for families who need coverage during those windows. The academic year runs from September through mid-June. Please visit our school calendar for complete details.

Our school hours are 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. For preschool and Pre-K students only, a half-day option with pickup at 12:00 pm is available. Free early drop-off is offered beginning at 7:30 am for students ages 3 and older.

Yes. After-care is available from 3:00 to 6:00 pm and is open to students of all ages enrolled at L’Etoile. The fee is $7.50 per hour, with a monthly maximum of $300. After-care enrollment is limited to currently enrolled L’Etoile students.

Yes. L’Etoile offers a robust selection of fee-based extracurricular classes after school, and enrollment at our school is not required to participate. Current offerings include art, soccer, gymnastics, robotics, circus arts, piano, ukulele, and more. Classes are offered in both French and English, extending the spirit of bilingual engagement beyond the academic day.

Yes. L’Etoile summer camps run for nine weeks, beginning at the end of June and concluding at the end of August. Our maternelle summer program serves students entering preschool, Pre-K, and kindergarten in the upcoming school year, ages 3 to 6. Our elementary summer program is open to students entering 1st through 5th grade, ages 6 to 12. Flexible scheduling options include half-day, full-day, and extended care arrangements to accommodate each family’s needs.

There is no enrollment deadline, though camps fill quickly. Please visit our summer camp page for more information.

Families have the option to order hot lunches and after-school snacks Monday through Friday for an additional fee. All items are ordered online à la carte through our hot lunch provider, who prepares and delivers meals directly to the school. Families who prefer to send food from home are asked to provide a morning snack, a packed lunch, and an afternoon snack for students staying in after-care. Both options are fully accommodated.

No. We believe that financial transparency is a form of respect for our families, and we have built our program accordingly. All costs are included in the base tuition and activity fee, with the exception of optional overnight trips. Families at L’Etoile know what they are paying and what it covers, because we believe that clarity around cost is as important as the quality of the education it funds.

Yes. L’Etoile has an indoor gymnasium at each of our three campuses, ensuring that students have access to physical activity and play regardless of the weather — a meaningful provision for Portland families who know that outdoor play is not always guaranteed.

L’Etoile’s elementary school is located at the former Fulton Park Elementary School, approximately one mile from our preschool campus on Hood Avenue. This historic site most recently served as the home of the Fulton Park Community Center until 2012, when Portland Parks programs transitioned out of the space. At that time, L’Etoile partnered with Portland Parks to return Fulton to its original purpose as a neighborhood school — a restoration of educational use that we are proud to have made possible. In keeping with the spirit of the original building and its role in the broader community, L’Etoile continues to make the auditorium available to neighborhood and civic groups during non-school hours.

L’Etoile teachers are selected according to the exacting standards of the French Ministry of Education. All faculty hold teaching credentials from their native countries, and the qualifications required to teach at the preschool and elementary level within our system are commensurate with a master’s-level qualification in the United States. These are not simply bilingual educators. They are trained specialists in the French pedagogical tradition, bringing to our classrooms the depth of knowledge and professional formation that the French system demands.

Families frequently praise our teachers for their exceptional warmth, accessibility, and dedication to building strong, open-door partnerships with parents. Beyond guiding academic progress, our educators deeply invest in each child’s emotional resilience, confidence, and social growth. Parents highly value the rich international expertise our native French-speaking faculty brings from diverse Francophone backgrounds, creating an authentic immersion environment that sparks curiosity and cultural awareness. Ultimately, families appreciate that L’Etoile teachers look at every student as an individual, cultivating a nurturing space where children feel safe taking linguistic risks and developing into empathetic, globally minded learners.

The exceptional nature of our faculty lies in their unique ability to seamlessly weave the high academic standards of an authentic French education with a deeply nurturing, child-centered approach. As native French speakers and highly trained educators, our instructors bring deep expertise in language acquisition and traditional French pedagogy to the classroom. Because they understand that learning a second language requires vulnerability, our teachers focus on building close, supportive relationships with every child. They intentionally design safe, engaging environments where students feel entirely comfortable taking intellectual risks, speaking a new language, and authentically being themselves.

At L’Etoile, a vibrant partnership between home and school is essential, and our small class sizes ensure that every family is deeply known. We maintain an open-door policy where communication happens naturally and regularly, complemented by spontaneous daily touchpoints during drop-off and pick-up. To support each child’s academic and emotional growth, teachers collaborate closely with parents throughout the year and conduct comprehensive parent-teacher conferences twice annually, in the fall and spring. This ongoing dialogue, enriched by our frequent community celebrations, fosters a warm, deeply connected ecosystem where families feel fully informed and valued.

L’Etoile benefits from a highly stable staff culture and long-term leadership, anchored by certified Professeurs des Écoles from France who have completed rigorous national training. Many of our lead educators join us through the prestigious détachement program, which allows French public school teachers to work abroad for two to five years while maintaining their professional standing with the French Ministry of Education. While this visa structure naturally introduces a rhythmic rotation of fresh educational excellence, several faculty members have chosen to stay permanently, and we enrich our classrooms annually with university-educated teaching assistants on one-year cultural exchange visas. This unique blend ensures a consistent, deeply dedicated team and a continuous infusion of authentic cultural vitality.