About 30 minutes before parents and educators convened at the International School of San Antonio, pre-kindergarten to first-grade French class students gathered around Victor Wembanyama as he read a book in French.
The French-born Spurs star’s visit Tuesday got students excited about an accreditation awarded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs: The LabelFrancÉducation seal.
The recognition rewards schools that make French an integral part of their curriculum.
“If we can help in making the French community grow here and [diversify], it’s a plus. … Really, it was my pleasure to be here spending some time with the children, especially believing that they can become stars,” Wembanyama said during the visit to honor the accreditation, adding that it was a nice break from basketball.
The private language immersion school in San Antonio joins two other French programs in Texas to get the accreditation for its elementary French program. Students can also learn Spanish and Mandarin.
School officials say the accreditation helps meet the need for French education to be expanded in San Antonio by opening doors to teaching resources and support and bringing French teachers to San Antonio through sponsored visas.
“The impact on these students, these incredible kids, is immeasurable, making them more globally engaged citizens, adding advantage to better careers in the global market and expanding global outreach in San Antonio,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said to the room of about 60 people.
At the event, Nirenberg sat next to the Consul General of France in Houston Valérie Baraban, who sat next to the 7-foot-4 Spurs rookie.
Members of San Antonio’s French community sat in seats behind them, including Philippe Placé, general manager of Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery, and Laurent Réa, executive chef at Mon Chou Chou Brasserie, which gave out hors d’oeuvres at the event celebrating the school’s achievement.
The school launched its first full academic year in 2020. In its fourth year, the school has plans to expand classes up to the fifth grade and is working to get a permanent location for the school as it grows.
“The plan is to be a full preschool and elementary school,” said International School of San Antonio CEO Katia Edrenkina.
For now, the private school opens six seats in each language track each year at its campus, which uses leased space at Oak Hills Presbyterian Church on Callaghan Road. About 11 teachers instruct students across seven classrooms, while an administrative staff of four people handle the rest.
Just last week, the school received an accreditation from Cognia after two years, which reviews the curriculum and practices, verifying it as a “quality school.”
A child’s first few years of education in French would make them bilingual, but they must continue practicing the language, otherwise they forget, Edrenkina said. That’s why the school also wants to add French classes up to the 12th grade, she added.
Alexis Mahinmi, whose daughter Amina is a pre-K student following in the footsteps of her two other daughters who attended the school, said she hopes the accreditation opens doors to expand the school and add more grades.
Her three daughters are half French on their father’s side, she said, adding that was the main reason she wanted them to be fluent in French.
To become fluent, students start learning with 80% of their classes in the “target” foreign language, and in first grade, about 60% of the curriculum is taught in the target language. In the fourth and fifth grade, 50% of the curriculum will be taught in the target language.
“I don’t want them to lose who they are,” Mahinmi said. “We want them to keep the language and the culture of their family and friends in France. I would love to see the school expand and do higher education, so I would totally keep my kids in French school if I can, but for the moment, just the little one.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the number of seats that open up each year in each language track at the school.
