French Immersion School of Washington (FISW)

We started our son in the preschool this year and could not be more happy. All the staff are wonderful and welcoming. The new head of school is amazing and goes above and beyond to make sure the students are first. We are not a french speaking family but love the benefits of a bilingual education for our children and we are welcomed with open arms. We will send our next child here next year and plan to stay through 5th grade.
5 7 years ago (23-03-2018)

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! :)
5 8 years ago (07-11-2017)

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.
5 8 years ago (04-11-2017)

Our kids have been at FISW since they are 3y/o ("petit" pre school) and are now in kinder and 2nd grades. We love the school and the community. The classes are small so the teachers have a lot of time to spend with each student. Their french is as good as their english. The school is following both french education program and american. (sorry for my bad english it is not my native language) :)
5 7 years ago (08-01-2018)

Update in Jan 2018 - We are still at the school. My kids still love it for all the reasons I wrote below. Go FISW! I wrote this 3 years ago... Both of my daughters attend FISW. My oldest is in her third year at the school and it has been an absolutely amazing experience for us. It is important to us that our children speak another language. The teachers are highly skilled at language development and even though we don’t speak French at home, our oldest daughter’s French is fluent, which is a source of pride for her. (Our youngest started the preschool this September, so it’s been less than 2 months for her.) In addition we want our children to relate to people of different back grounds. Since FISW is attended by children from a variety of countries it exposes them to all sorts of cultures. FISW is well run. They have been around for 15 years and it operates like a well-oiled machine. The school is accredited by both the French system as well as our State run educational system. Each class takes a few field trips a year. They have many after school extra-curricular activities, such as piano, chess, fencing and after school homework. The teachers are always accessible in the morning and after school to touch base on what the kids are learning and how the class is going in general. My daughters have thrived at FISW. We are lucky to have found the school. I highly recommend it.
5 7 years ago (04-01-2018)