Lycée Français de New York

Lycée Français de New York
505 East 75th Street
Address
505 East 75th Street New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Information
School type	Co-op
Established	October 1935 First charter: 17 April 1936
Grades	Preschool to high school
Gender	Girls and boys
Language	French and English
Website	www.lfny.org

The Lycée Français de New York (LFNY), literally The French High School of New York, is an exclusive French-medium school for K-12 students based in Manhattan, New York which follows the French curriculum of study and allows students to study for the French general Baccalauréat, the international option of the French Baccalaureate, and the American High School Diploma. It fosters over 1300 students from many different nationalities from pre-nursery through high school.

History

Former 72nd Street home

In the mid 1930s the LFNY was the brainchild of the then French Consul General in New York, Count Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle. He enlisted the help of Forsythe Wicks, a lawyer and businessman who was the president of the Alliance Française and Paul Windels, Sr., the attorney general of the City of New York. Others involved in the founding of the LFNY include Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, the President of Columbia University, Mr. Jesse Straus, the U.S. Ambassador to France, and Mr. Jean Marx, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Quai d'Orsay The LFNY granted its first baccalaureate degree in 1938. During the late 1930s and 1940s world events helped shape the School as it continued to expand to accommodate the many students who came here from Europe and elsewhere during WWII. Eight graduates of LFNY died in combat during the war. Since 1935 over 36,000 students have studied at the Lycée. More than 150 nationalities have been represented throughout the School's history."

Mr. Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle served as the school's first President from 1935 until his death in 1956. He was succeeded by two interim Presidents: Jean de Siéyès (president or former president of the French-American Banking Corporation) from de Fontnouvelle's death until the end of the school year; and Robert Lacour-Gayet (a writer and academic) for the next school year. Then, Mr. Maurice Galy (deceased 1993) became the school's President starting in 1957, a post he held until he retired in 1989.

The Building

The modern LFNY building was designed by the New York based architecture firm Polshek Partnership Architects in 2003. It consists of two buildings linked together by a patio, serving as a walkway, but also a lawn where students congregate and play. The North building (76th street) houses the pre-school and elementary schools while the middle school and high school students are taught in the South building (75th street). All students share the cafeteria and the gymnasiums. The facade of the building is made of stainless glass, and the lobby wall is dedicated to great French and American people who define the Lycee curriculum.

Facilities

The school originally occupied a residential building on East 95th Street near Fifth Avenue and Mr. Galy arranged for the acquisition of three more landmark mansions, two on East 72d Street and one on East 93d Street." In 2003, the school completed a modern, 158,000-square-foot (14,700 m²) state-of-the-art facility located at 505 East 75th Street. Taking up nearly a full city block, it houses the upper and lower schools and boasts such amenities as a 354-seat auditorium and two full size gymnasiums. Student to teacher ratio is approximately 7:1

Tuition

The Lycée Français de New York has a tuition of $22 360. Financial Aid (Bourse) is given to students based on need. The LFNY holds a yearly Gala to raise money for the Bourse, and receives some funding from the French government.

Notable alumni

• Authors Danielle Steel, Dalia Sofer, Ted Morgan, Amélie Nothomb, Jonathan Littell, Joanna Rogers Macy, writer and translator Christopher Atamian, and playwright Michel Vinaver
• Other alumni who are published authors
• Literary critic George Steiner (1929-)
• Actresses Delphine Seyrig (1932-1990) and Olga Georges-Picot (1944-1997), and actor Xavier Gélin (deceased 1999, son of French actress Danièle Delorme and actor Daniel Gélin)
• Artist, writer, editor and educator Mira Schor
• Scholar of French literature, feminist theory and literary criticism Naomi Schor (1943-2001)
• Ballerina Tanaquil LeClerq-Balanchine (1929-2000)
• Soprano Stephanie Friede, mezzo soprano Anna Steiger (daughter of actor Rod Steiger and of actress Claire Bloom), and mezzo soprano Alexandra Montano (deceased 2007)
• Investment banker Michel David-Weill, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, and Colt's Manufacturing Company owner Donald Zilkha
• Bassist Nikolai Fraiture and solo artist/lead vocalist/songwriter Julian Casablancas of The Strokes;
• Nada Surf members Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca; French musician Nicolas Peyrac
• Punk music producer and songwriter Martin Bisi, and punk music film director Paul Rachman
• Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Maria Teresa Mestre
• Winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Baruj Benacerraf (1920-2011)
• Former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Philippe de Montebello (1936-)
• Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and Jean-Christophe Mitterrand (son of former French President François Mitterrand)
• Journalists Nina Bernstein (NY Times, and winner of 2009 Hillman Prize for Newspaper Journalism), Donatella Lorch (Newsweek), Emmanuel de Brantes (Point de vue, Radio Nova), Fred Kapner (the Financial Times' Europe news editor, deceased 2005), and Margot Roosevelt (Los Angeles Times)
• Political analysts Bill Kristol and David Rieff (son of author Susan Sontag)
• French composer Betsy Jolas
• Animator Jacques Rouxel (1931-2004)
• Painter and photographer Gilles Larrain
• University of Chicago, Professor of Law and Criminology Bernard Harcourt
• Amherst College Professor of Philosophy Alexander George
• Fashion muse and designer Loulou de la Falaise
• Surgical oncologist, Valerie Rusch, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Former professors include noted French historian André Kaspi, former French Ministre de l'Économie Thierry Breton, and French author Pierrette Fleutiaux.
• Louis Sarkozy, son of French president Nicolas Sarkozy
• Lourdes Leon, daughter of singer Madonna
• Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, children of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

See also

• Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger
• Education in France
• Category:Lycée Français de New York alumni

External links

• Lycée Français de New York website
• Alumni Association of the Lycée Français de New York (Fondée en 1964 par les Anciens, pour les Anciens)