Applying in Preschool

May 31 2021

THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS DURING THE COVID CRISIS

Our admissions process continues on remotely. While access to our campuses is restricted during this time, please enjoy our virtual tour and make sure to reach out by email with any questions. Thank you!

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UNDERSTANDING the ADMISSION JOURNEY

Application : Start it Online

Interview : Meet with the Admissions Team

A zoom meeting with one of our admissions associates will provide an opportunity to discuss your educational and personal goals for your child. We are eager to get to know your family and understand how we might best serve you. This also is an excellent time for us to address your questions.

You will be able to schedule this meeting at a convenient time.

This meeting is optional for parents of sibling applicants.

Assessment under COVID : Tailored to the applicant

An important part of the Application Journey is the Assessment. It varies on the age of the applicant and the nature of his/her current education system.

Why do we assess applicants, especially the youngest ones?

To capture a comprehensive, baseline assessment across all applicants and across multiple developmental domains (language, gross or fine motor skills,...)
To provide a snapshot of the applicant’s personality
To understand how to best support the prospective student in our unique learning environment
To assist in creating balanced class groups

WHY review the assessment process under COVID?

To adapt to the current health context and the safety protocols in place on campus
To provide greater flexibility for families and minimize stress
To meet the admissions committee's needs for a comprehensive assessment of each candidate

For Applicant to LPE ( La Petite Ecole)

Assessment for these very young children is particularly challenging to conduct remotely.
The applicant and his/her parents will be invited to come to campus to play outdoors and outside of school hours with appropriate safety measures
Invitations will be sent after January, so that assessment is closer to school start

For Applicants to Preschool, Pre-K or K

Assessment will rely on parents submitting a series of three short parent-administered videos of 1-2 mins each
The applicant will respond to short prompts
Flexibility with filming on parent phone from their own home
Easy for parents to upload videos to SchoolAdmin
Limited material and supplies necessary

Note to K applicants: if you are applying to other private schools in the ISSFBA group and have already produced an assessment video, we will accept this video in lieu of our assessment video.

Video Directions

Select 3 of the 4 following themes to address in short videos (1-2 mins each):

“Can you make a drawing? Can you describe it for me?” (this video is required)
“What is your favorite toy ? Tell me about it”
“ What is your favorite animal? How does it move, what does it say?”
“What is your favorite song? Can you sing it for me?”

Start the video by clearly asking the prompt. Feel free to restate the prompt as you see fit to help get your child fully engage in this exercise.
You can be in the video or prompting the child while filming.
Videos can be filmed on a phone (.MOV or .MP4) in a vertical or horizontal format. We are not looking for a professionally filmed video with perfect lighting or angles. Videos should not be edited, but rather 1-2 minutes each of continuous filming.
Conversation in the video can be conducted in English or French

**Submitted videos will be part of the applicant file. They will therefore be confidential and viewed only by the Admissions Committee to get to know your child through the application process.

File Upload

The videos will be uploaded directly onto the SchoolAdmin Applicant Checklist (item : Applicant Assessment Videos)
Multiple video files can be uploaded under the same checklist item
The system allows you to upload up to 4 videos, but only 3 are required.

Admissions Decisions and Notifications

Admissions decisions are made by an Admissions Committee. Its decisions are based on feedback from the admissions team and the academic teams.

The first notifications are sent by email early March, based on a calendar agreed upon with the other private schools of the Bay Area.

Past these dates, applications are reviewed regularly and notifications are sent consequently.

Upon reception of their acceptance news, parents have a week to secure their enrollment by signing their enrollment contract electronically and paying their non-refundable enrollment fees. (please note that tuition information for 2021-2022 will not be posted before early February).

Admissions Main Dates

WHAT GRADE to APPLY FOR

My child was born in 2020

My child was born in 2019

My child was born in 2018

My child was born in 2017

My child was born in 2016

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A DIFFERENT CUT-OFF DATE

LFSF follows the French system and the cut-off dates for entry are different to those in the American system. At LFSF, we consider the full year of birth (Jan 01 - Dec 31) rather than the academic year (Sept 01 - Aug 31). Therefore the cut-off birthdate for entry is Dec. 31.

Make sure to discuss this topic with the Admissions team member you will be in contact with for more information.

Grade Translation

Don't get lost in translation!
Here is a useful resource for translating French grades into US grades.

LPE (La Petite Ecole) : Age 2 program
PS (Petite Section): Preschool
MS (Moyenne Section): Pre-K
GS (Grande Section): K
CP (Cours préparatoire) : Gr 1
CE1 : Gr 2
CE2 : Gr 3
CM1: Gr 4
CM2: Gr 5
6eme: Gr 6
5eme: Gr 7
4eme: Gr 8
3eme: Gr 9
2nde: Gr 10
1ere: Gr 11
Terminale : Gr 12

Preparing your child for school

You are looking for ressources to use at home to prepare your child for school at LFSF. Here are a few ideas:

SHOWS watch on YouTube

An App : STORY PLA’R

To listen to stories in French

BOOKs to read together

POP A L’ECOLE
L’ECOLE DE LEON
P’TIT LOUP RENTRE A L´ECOLE
LE PREMIER JOUR D’ECOLE
LA RENTREE DE CHARLOTTE AUX FRAISES
7 HISTOIRES POUR AIMER LA MATERNELLE
ALEXANDRE VA A L’ECOLE
L’IMAGIER DE BALI: UNE JOURNEE A L’ECOLE
JULIETTE VA A L’ECOLE
A LA MATERNELLE AVEC MIMI

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I'm bilingual! What's your superpower?

At LFSF, students have a superpower: they can speak, read and dream in two, sometimes three, or even four languages! Big deal, some might say, and yet!...

"I live in the city. I go to school in Sausalito!"

A growing number of San Francisco based families make the choice to first enroll in la Petite Ecole, only available in Sausalito. After a year enjoying our sunny and kid-friendly location, most decided to stay. Karen, whose son Tom is now in preschool, explains her family’s choice.

ADM | Looking to apply for a sibling ? Your application deadline is NOV 15

If you are interested in enrolling a sibling for the 2020-2021 school year, or are working at LFSF and would like to apply for your child, please make sure to apply early and before NOV 15.

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EXPLORE SOME MORE

THE EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM

CHOOSING LFSF

AFFORDING LFSF

Rolling Admission

Like most international schools, we accept applications at any time of the year. Please make sure to contact us to check availability. Thanks!

Contact the admissions team

PLANNING TO MOVE TO THE BAY AREA ?

Our application process will be slightly different than the one described above to better adjust to your situation. Applications from abroad are mostly consider on a rolling admissions basis.

APPLYING WHEN RELOCATING

All are welcome

The Lycée Français de San Francisco admits students of any race, color, religion, disability, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and national or ethnic origin and accords to them all the privileges, programs, and activities at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial assistance programs, athletic and other school-administered programs.

A Double Gold Award for the LFSF | Best of the Best 2020

The Bay Area Parent Magazine released its Best of the Best 2020 edition at the end of September.

Each year Bay Area Parent readers can vote for their preferred entity in various industries - schools, shops, businesses etc. The special edition "The Best of the Best" features the winners.

The LFSF is very proud to have won again this year, not only one but two gold awards:

Gold medal for the Best International School in Marin & San Francisco
Gold medal for the Best Language Immersion School in Marin & San Francisco

First page of the PDF file: SFMGLyceeFrancaisdeSanFranciscobestinternationalschool1

First page of the PDF file: SFMGLyceeFrancaisdeSanFranciscoBestLanguageImmersion1

Thank you to all the parents who voted for us!

We were extremely impressed with what we heard, saw and felt as we explored the school's classrooms and hallways. Truly all of the children from pre-school through 5th grade seemed engaged, happy and safe and their teachers are clearly a big component of that. We can very much picture our daughter (...) thriving in the environment you have worked so hard to create.

Prospective parent

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