LFC School Profile 2020-2021
School Profile 2020-2021 From its founding in 1995, the Lycée Français de Chicago, driven by our core values of respect, responsibility and the joy of learning, has empowered students to grow into active global citizens.
Through our inclusive, multilingual and pluricultural learning environment and our true immersion-based curricula—offering both French Baccalaureate and International Baccalaureate programs—we give students from pre-K through grade 12 an outstanding, unique experience.
Founded in 1995 The LFC’s educational excellence enables our students to thrive around the world, in college and throughout their academic, professional and personal lives.
25 years Active Global Citizens The LFC’s educational excellence empowers students to become well-rounded, active global citizens ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges.
We educate our students to be responsible citizens of the world who employ critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and adaptability and who act with the utmost integrity. To accomplish this, we instill each student with a global perspective that includes awareness, respect and empathy for others. We teach them to understand diverse cultural nuances, to Pre-K740 to communicate in multiple languages and to navigate the world with confidence. Grade 12 Students
High School 183 Students
OF SS 202 CLA 1
French 33 Baccalaureate International +18 Baccalaureate 51 GRADUATES
ACCREDITATIONS
French Ministry of Education
International 1929 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago, IL 60640 | 773-665-0066 | LyceeChicago.org | CEEB: 140-996 Baccalaureate Eric Veteau, President Independent School Cécile Reynier, Interim Director of Secondary School Association of the Central States Lance Paulsen, Director of College Counseling: [email protected] Claire Shepro, College Counselor: [email protected] Illinois State Board of Education Joëlle Parisot, College Counselor: [email protected] Common Core Courses
Civics French Baccalaureate LFC students in the French Baccalaureate program follow the curriculum established by the Economics French Ministry of Education. Instruction is primarily in French with the exception of English and OIB courses (see below). This program, which culminates in rigorous examinations over English the course of grades 11 and 12, fosters self-discipline and organization while encouraging the development of critical thinking and analytical skills. Foreign Languages (German, Mandarin or Spanish) In grades 9-12, students take courses from the common core. In grade 11, students add three French advanced specialty courses, each of which meets for four hours per week. In grade 12, students narrow their specialty courses to two, each of which meets for six hours per week. (See tables History-Geography on the left.)
Mathematics Students complete the equivalent of high honors-level coursework in specialty courses. All coursework in grade 12 is on par with the college level; as a result, many universities grant Music/Visual Arts French Baccalaureate students up to a full year of credits.
Philosophy
Physical Education
Science
Technology
Speciality Courses
Biology
Computer Science
Economics and Social Sciences
History, Geopolitics & Political Science
Humanities, Literature & Philosophy
Mathematics
Physics-Chemistry
Electives Changes to the French Baccalaureate The class of 2021 is the first class to graduate with the new version of the French Baccalaureate. • Additional Foreign Language While students previously chose a curriculum track (Science & Mathematics, Economics & (German, Mandarin, Spanish) Social Sciences, or Literature & Languages) with a prescribed set of courses, they now have • Latin more flexibility to study subjects of particular interest to them in greater depth. • Visual Arts American Section – Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB) Additional Options for Grade 12 Students: Recognized and developed by both the College Board and the French Ministry of Education, the American Section of the Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB) combines the breadth • Applied Mathematics (for and rigor of the French Baccalaureate with additional subjects taught in English, resulting in a students who drop the bilingual and bicultural diploma. The OIB is considered a very rigorous specialization within Mathematics specialty after the French Bac, and is pursued only by approximately 1100 students worldwide. OIB students grade 11) complete additional coursework in English Language, Literature, and History and Geography • Advanced Topics in Mathematics taught by both French and American faculty. The OIB makes academic and linguistic (most advanced Mathematics demands on an equal level in English and French, providing students with a university entrance course offered; available to qualification valid in both the U.S. and France. For non-native English speakers, enrollment in students taking the Mathematics the OIB serves as proof of English proficiency (in lieu of the TOEFL, IELTS, etc). In the class of 2021, specialty in grade 12) 25 students are enrolled in the OIB.
Graduation Standards and Requirements Baccalauréat Examination Results LFC French Bac students usually graduate with two diplomas: a U.S. Total High School diploma and the French Baccalaureate. Total Year Students Passed Honors % Honors % in USA Coursework in the French Bac program prepares students for a series of French national qualifying examinations known as the 2016 15 100% 93% 83% Baccalauréat (Bac). With the new Bac, a student’s final average is determined by national final examinations (50-60%), school-level 2017 25 100% 84% 84% exams given over the course of grades 11 and 12 (30-40%), and students’ annual averages (10%). Final exams, both written and oral, 2018 27 100% 100% 85% are evaluated by outside examiners. One of the hallmarks of the new Bac is Le Grand Oral, an oral defense of a two-year research project 2019 22 100% 95% 89% related to one or both of their grade 12 specialty courses. 2020 36 100% 97% - Middle Years Programme Grades 9–10 International Baccalaureate Each subject area is mandatory; LFC is an International Baccalaureate World School and offers both the IB Diploma Programme 2 languages min. are required (DP, grades 11 and 12) and the Middle Years Programme (MYP, grades 9 and 10). In grades 9 and 10, students take at least one course from six different groups (see table). In addition, students complete a Community Project (grade 9), during which they create and implement Language and Literature a research-based service project, and a Personal Project (grade 10), which is a year-long • English Language and Literature exploration allowing students to pursue interests outside their daily school work. • French Language and Literature • German Language and Literature In grades 11 and 12, students choose three subjects to pursue at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL) in order to qualify for the IB Diploma. In addition to these subjects, students Language Acquisition complete several core requirements: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), a course about critical • French thinking and inquiry; Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS), a continuation of the Community • Spanish Project culminating in a portfolio; and the Extended Essay (EE), an externally-assessed • German independent research paper on a subject of the student’s choosing. Students may also take • Mandarin additional courses not offered at LFC through Pamoja, an accredited online provider of IB courses. Individuals & Societies LFC became accredited as an IB World School in 2013 and graduated its first IB Diploma class • History in 2015. In 2019, LFC became authorized to offer the Middle Years Programme in addition to the Diploma Programme. Mathematics Grade 9 • Mathematics IB Bilingual Diploma (BD) Grade 10 LFC’s IB students may choose between the standard IB Diploma and the Bilingual IB Diploma • Standard Mathematics (BD). Students may earn a BD by achieving a grade of 3 or better in two languages selected • Extended Mathematics from the Languages and Literature group. Approximately half of LFC IB students opt for the BD.
Sciences • Biology • Physics • Chemistry
The Arts • Visual Arts
Diploma Programme Grades 11–12
Language and Literature • English A Language & Literature (SL/HL) • French A Language & Literature (SL/HL)
Language Acquisition Graduation Standards and Requirements The majority of LFC IB students graduate with two diplomas: a U.S. High School diploma and • French ab initio (SL) - beginner the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. • French B (SL/HL) - intermediate The IB Diploma Programme culminates in six final exams, evaluated by outside examiners, Individuals & Societies in each of the student’s chosen HL and SL courses. Students must receive a minimum of • History (SL/HL) 24 points total on their exams (each graded on a scale of 1-7) in order to receive the IB • Psychology (SL/HL) Diploma, with at least 12 points coming from HL subjects and 9 from SL subjects. In addition, students may not receive more than two 2s and no more than three 3s. Finally, students Mathematics must successfully complete the IB Core (TOK, EE, and CAS). The maximum number of points • Applications and Interpretation awarded is 45 (7 per subject + 3 additional points for TOK and EE). (SL) • Analysis and Approaches (SL/HL) International Baccalaureate Diploma Examination Results Sciences World Bilingual • Biology (SL/HL) Year Students Avg. points Passed Average Diploma • Physics (SL/HL) • Chemistry (SL) 2016 8 33 29.8 6 1 The Arts* 2017 6 36 29.9 6 4 • Visual Arts (SL/HL) 2018 6 30 29.9 5 3 *Students may choose to take a second science or third language instead of Visual Arts. 2019 10 28.8 29.6 8 6
2020 13 32 30 13 9 Course Load/Hours LFC students often carry a course load of 30-40 hours per week. School hours and schedules University Matriculation: vary, but many students are in class from 8:20 a.m. until 5:20 p.m. Given the long school day 2015–2020 and heavy academic load, participation in extracurricular activities can be challenging. 100% of LFC students go on to attend institutions of higher education after graduation, most frequently in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Grading & Ranking Grade Conversion Table France. Names in bold represent class of 2020 Matriculation. The French Bac & IB grading scales differ from those used in US French Bac IBDP IBMYP ECE Paris, école d’ingénieurs traditional U.S. schools. Please United States (2) refer to the Grade Conversion A+ 15-20 7 8 Barnard College (2) Ecole Emile Cohl Bates College EDHEC Business (5) Table rather than calculating a Beloit College ESSCA percentage - both programs’ A 14 6 7 Bentley University IESEG School of grading systems differ in Bowdoin College Management A- 13 5 6 Brown University INSA philosophy from the American CA Poly State University ISEFAC I.U.T de Montpellier system (i.e. a 11/20 in the Bac or B+ 12 - - Carleton College (2) a 4/7 in IB are considered good Chapman University I.U.T Nice-Côte d’Azur Colby College LEGTA Jean Monnet (Vic-en- - equivalent to a B). Almost all B 11 4 5 Columbia College Chicago Bigorre) evaluations are based on essays (4) Lycée Carnot and free-response questions, and B- 10 - - Columbia University Lycée Faidherbe à Lille Concordia University Lycée Hoche (Versailles) (2) grades take into account aspects C+ 9 - 4 Chicago Lycée Jeanne D’Albret such as reasoning, form and Cornell University (Saint-Germain-en-Laye) presentation of proofs, and written Denison University (2) C 8 3 3 DePaul University (6) Lycée La Martiniere expression. Eugene Lang-The New Monplaisir (Lyon) C- 7 - - School Lycée militaire d’Aix en Official transcripts sent to Georgetown University Provence D+ 6 - 2 Goucher College Lycée militaire de La Flèche American colleges reflect the Harvard University (2) Lycée Thiers (Marseille) American letter grade equivalents D 5 2 1 Illinois Institute of Technology Paris Business School as established in the Grade Indiana University Polytechnique Lausanne Bloomington NEOMA Business School Conversion Table. All courses D- 4 - - Kalamazoo College Sciences Pô Paris, Dijon are unweighted and the GPA Kenyon College Sciences Pô Paris, Paris calculation uses a 4.0 scale. LFC F 3 1 1 Lake Forest College (2) Université Catholique de Lille Loyola Marymount Université Dauphine, Paris does not calculate or publish University Université de La Rochelle class rankings. Loyola University Chicago Université de Rennes 1 (5) Université de Rennes 2 (2) New York University (5) Université du Havre Standardized Testing Northeastern University (3) Université La Sorbonne, Northwestern University (3) Paris (2) English is a second or third language for many of our students. In addition, our students are Oberlin College Université Paris 2 Panthéon unfamiliar with the multiple-choice testing format. Consequently, SAT and ACT scores do Parsons-The New School - Assas not accurately predict our students’ ability to undertake and excel in college-level work. The San Francisco Art Institute Université Paris-Nanterre School of Art Institute Université Technologique de sequencing and terminology of the French curriculum and absence of test preparation does Chicago Troyes not allow for true achievement of students’ standardized test scores. Smith College Université Toulouse 1 - Southern Methodist Capitole University St. John’s College Class % Tested Middle 50%* Average Stanford University United Syracuse University (2) Kingdom 2016 50% 23-29 26 Temple University Tufts University Durham University 2017 41% 29-33 30 Tulane University Imperial College London (2) A University of California, Los King’s College London 2018 70% 25-31 28 Angeles (6) The London School of University of California, San Economics (2) 2019 50% 25-33 29 Diego Regent’s University University of California, University College London C University of Edinburgh 2020 54% 26-30 28 Santa Barbara (2) University of California, Santa University of Exeter (2) *As a small number of students take the ACT, score ranges are also provided. Cruz University of the Arts London University of Chicago (5) (2) T University of Colorado University of London, Royal Boulder Holloway University of Florida University of Illinois, Urbana- Extracurricular Activities and Cultural Exchanges Champaign (8) Canada The Lycee offers a variety of student-run clubs, including Model UN, Diversity Project, Yearbook, University of Iowa Concordia University University of Maryland, Montreal (7) Musical Theater, and Student Government. Students also have the opportunity to participate College Park Dalhousie University in special programs throughout the year such as Maths en Jeans, Start-Up Lycee, projects in University of Minnesota, Twin HEC Montréal our school’s innovation lab, Francophone Youth Theater, literary workshops, and art festivals. Cities McGill University (15) University of San Diego Université de Montréal (3) LFC’s sports program, the Flames, is an opportunity for students to gain leadership skills, University of Southern University of British Columbia learn to work as part of a team, and play in a competitive league. Many language courses California (2) also take students on international field trips, and students are encouraged to participate in University of Vermont Université of Laval University of Wisconsin- Western University international school exchange programs. Madison (4) Vassar College (2) Community Service Wake Forest University (2) Other Yale University (2) Bocconi University, Italy The Lycée Français de Chicago is committed to educating students to become well-rounded Columbia University/ members and leaders in a global community. Service learning projects and experiences France Sciences Po Dual BA (3) engage students in ways that expand their awareness of the world outside themselves and of American University of Paris EAE Business School, Spain (2) ESCP Europe Business School the needs of others. LFC high school students must complete ten hours of community service AMOS, École de (2) each year in grades 9–12. Additionally, IB students follow the CAS guidelines and complete the management sportif NYU Shanghai requirement to be eligible for the IB Diploma. Atelier de Sèvres, Paris RWTH Aachen University, Conservatoire de musique Germany de Paris