Lycee Rochambeau
Encyclopedia
Lycée Rochambeau is a French
international school
in the Washington, D.C.
suburb of Bethesda, Maryland
.
serving students from pre-kindergarten (age 3, petite section) through high school and the last year of the French secondary system (Terminale) on three campuses located just outside the city of Washington, D.C.
The Lycée's secondary school accommodates approximately 309 students on an 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) campus in Bethesda, Maryland
, 10 miles (16.1 km) from downtown Washington, D.C. Approximately forty-nine percent (49%) of students are French nationals, fourteen percent (14%) are U.S. citizens, and thirty-seven percent (37%) come from 55 other nations. Many students’ families are in Washington, D.C. on temporary assignments with embassies, French corporations and international organizations. Because of this, there is significant annual turnover in the student population.
The French Baccalauréat degree is awarded only when a student has completed a fifth year of study and has passed the Baccalauréat examinations.
Because the Maryland high school diploma is usually awarded to students before their last year of study at the Lycée, students who have earned the diploma and who plan to attend American colleges have the option of leaving the Lycée without completing the Terminale year and without taking the Baccalauréat examinations. More than ninety-five percent (95%) of students at the Lycée, however, choose to stay for the Terminale year in order to sit for the Baccalauréat examinations.
Theater and Cinema may be chosen separately as optional classes during the first year of High School. An Arts class is also available at that time, giving students artistic classes which may prove useful later on in their professional lives.
In addition to their concentration courses, all Lycée Rochambeau students are required to enroll in English, a second modern foreign language in addition to English (Spanish, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Arabic, etc.), history and geography, and philosophy.
Baccalauréat examinations are developed at the French national level, with the same examinations being given at lycées worldwide at the end of the Première and Terminale years. Each section of the Baccalauréat examinations consists of a series of essays requiring in-depth analysis and a well-reasoned response. The written section of the Baccalauréat is scheduled over a two-week period, encompassing 17–32 hours of testing. Students also present two to four oral examinations.
Over the past ten years, the success rate on the Baccalauréat examination at the Lycée Rochambeau has averaged approximately 96.2%, with over 66% of the students receiving honors, compared with the annual pass rate at 90.95% at other French lycées in the U.S.
and geography
. The OIB is not a separate diploma, but rather an additional specialization within the framework of any of the three Séries of the Baccalauréat. The concept, curriculum, and evaluation standards of the OIB American Option were developed by the French Ministry of Education and the Advanced Placement Division of the College Board
. To meet the requirements of the Lycée’s OIB specialization, students must pass rigorous written and oral examinations given in English and evaluated by external examiners provided by the Advanced Placement Division of the College Board.
Education in France
The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages:* the primary education ;* secondary education ;...
international school
International school
An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...
in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
suburb of Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
.
School and Community
Lycée Rochambeau was founded in 1955, and presently, with a total enrollment of approximately 1100 students, it is the largest of the nine French schools in the United States. Lycée Rochambeau is a non-denominational, coeducational, day schoolDay school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
serving students from pre-kindergarten (age 3, petite section) through high school and the last year of the French secondary system (Terminale) on three campuses located just outside the city of Washington, D.C.
The Lycée's secondary school accommodates approximately 309 students on an 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) campus in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, 10 miles (16.1 km) from downtown Washington, D.C. Approximately forty-nine percent (49%) of students are French nationals, fourteen percent (14%) are U.S. citizens, and thirty-seven percent (37%) come from 55 other nations. Many students’ families are in Washington, D.C. on temporary assignments with embassies, French corporations and international organizations. Because of this, there is significant annual turnover in the student population.
Graduation Requirements
To receive the high school diploma from the State of Maryland, Lycée Rochambeau students must complete a minimum of 21 Carnegie units. Twenty of these units must be in specified areas:- 4 units in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- 4 units in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- 4 units in Social studiesSocial studiesSocial studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
to include 1 credit in U.S. History - 3 units in ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
- 3 units in MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- 2 units in a third foreign language
The French Baccalauréat degree is awarded only when a student has completed a fifth year of study and has passed the Baccalauréat examinations.
Because the Maryland high school diploma is usually awarded to students before their last year of study at the Lycée, students who have earned the diploma and who plan to attend American colleges have the option of leaving the Lycée without completing the Terminale year and without taking the Baccalauréat examinations. More than ninety-five percent (95%) of students at the Lycée, however, choose to stay for the Terminale year in order to sit for the Baccalauréat examinations.
French National Curriculum, Faculty, and Language of Instruction
All French lycées follow the academic curriculum established by the French National Ministry of Education. Faculty members are certified by the same French ministry. The Lycée’s student-faculty ratio is 10 to 1, with all courses being taught in French. However, English and U.S civilization classes are taught in English, along with History classes in the International Baccalaureate section (see OIB section of this article). Beginning in the third year of Middle School (4ème), Spanish, Italian and German are offered as a second language, with each student having to choose one of these languages. English language instruction is offered at four levels with placement depending on a student’s level of proficiency: Group 1 – ESL; Group 2 - standard English; Group 3 – Honors English; and Group 4—OIB English. During the terminale year, Groups 1 and 2 and Groups 3 and 4 are combined, and a separate Group is created for the OIB section. in addition, students may follow a Latin class, which is made available to them at the beginning of the second year of Middle School and continues on until the final year of High School.Theater and Cinema may be chosen separately as optional classes during the first year of High School. An Arts class is also available at that time, giving students artistic classes which may prove useful later on in their professional lives.
Course Load
During the final three years of secondary education, Lycée students often carry a course load of 37 to 40 hours per week, with a corresponding amount of homework. School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., depending on each students schedule. Given the long school day and heavy academic load, students have little time to pursue extracurricular activities common to U.S. high school cultures. However, various activities are organized by different student groups: the "Talent Show", which takes place before December break and features students presenting particular talents. Movies are also screened at multiple times during the school year. Sports, such as volleyball or soccer, are accessible to students of different grades. The lycée also celebrates the Fête de la francophonie, this time emphasizing the often unique francophone cultures from which the various students hail.Grade Point Averages and Class Ranking
The Lycée does not calculate GPAs or assign class rank due to the fact that courses in the French system are not quantified with equal credit units as they are in the U.S. Because Lycée courses vary in number of contact hours and difficulty, a student’s performance courses cannot be accurately averaged, nor can a class ranking be accurately determined.French Baccalauréat
During the last two years of French secondary education (Première and Terminale), students choose concentrations in one of the following specialized academic tracks (Séries du Baccalauréat):- Série L (Languages, Literature and Humanities)
- Série ES (Economics and Social Sciences)
- Série S (Mathematics and Sciences)
In addition to their concentration courses, all Lycée Rochambeau students are required to enroll in English, a second modern foreign language in addition to English (Spanish, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Arabic, etc.), history and geography, and philosophy.
Baccalauréat examinations are developed at the French national level, with the same examinations being given at lycées worldwide at the end of the Première and Terminale years. Each section of the Baccalauréat examinations consists of a series of essays requiring in-depth analysis and a well-reasoned response. The written section of the Baccalauréat is scheduled over a two-week period, encompassing 17–32 hours of testing. Students also present two to four oral examinations.
Over the past ten years, the success rate on the Baccalauréat examination at the Lycée Rochambeau has averaged approximately 96.2%, with over 66% of the students receiving honors, compared with the annual pass rate at 90.95% at other French lycées in the U.S.
International Option of the French Baccalauréat (OIB)
Within the context of the Baccalauréat's international options (the option internationale du baccalauréat, or OIB) the Lycée offers the American Option. The Lycée’s OIB American Option, which is taught by French and American faculty, is an optional three-year program that offers students advanced level studies in English language and literature and an integrated curriculum in world historyWorld History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. The OIB is not a separate diploma, but rather an additional specialization within the framework of any of the three Séries of the Baccalauréat. The concept, curriculum, and evaluation standards of the OIB American Option were developed by the French Ministry of Education and the Advanced Placement Division of the College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
. To meet the requirements of the Lycée’s OIB specialization, students must pass rigorous written and oral examinations given in English and evaluated by external examiners provided by the Advanced Placement Division of the College Board.