31 mai 2021

4 Reasons to integrate the Dual Diploma Academica into your school’s educational pathway

Would your French school like to offer its students the possibility of obtaining the US High School Diploma? At the same time as the French Baccalaureate? Academica International Studies (AIS) offers access to the Dual Diploma Academica. With the Dual Diploma, students gain access to a bicultural education. They enhance their academic records and benefit from the advantages of bilingualism. For the partner schools, it is an opportunity to complement their educational project and to integrate an international network.

Here are some of the benefits of the program for high school students, teachers and schools. But first, let’s discover the key recommendations of the CNESCO Report on the appropriation of foreign languages.

« From discovery to appropriation of foreign languages: how can schools better support students? »

A jury of educators, students, parents, and various representatives was formed. They developed 10 key recommendations. Based on evaluations and research in didactics, cognitive psychology, linguistics, etc., recommendations have been established around 4 axes:

The progressiveness of learning, from primary school to the end of high school;
An evaluation focused on the “right to make mistakes” and the real skills of students;
Increasing students’ exposure to languages;
Better support for teachers.

Download the full 2019 report by clicking on the following link: CNESCO Report on Modern Foreign Languages.

This is exactly what the Dual Diploma Academica is about!

But what is the Dual Diploma Academica?

It is a dual curriculum that allows your students to simultaneously obtain two diplomas. The French Baccalaureate in person and the US High School Diploma in digital format.

This innovative program allows your students to earn credits for the American high school diploma. Ideally, your students will receive a digital, all-English education identical to that in American schools. All of this taught by American teachers, alongside their in-person French courses.

For your school, offering the High School Diploma has never been so accessible. The curriculum begins in 9th, 10th or 11th grade. At the end of their senior year, students earn a dual French and American bac. They become bilingual, immerse in another culture, and enrich their academic record.

This double degree is a real asset for their applications to higher education programs and entrance exams to prestigious schools in France and abroad. In addition, students become more independent and gain self-confidence. This form of online education has a strong added value thanks to the innovative pedagogy and the level of independence and responsibility required of students.

Offering a bilingual and multicultural education to your students is an undeniable advantage for their future career. Learning in a different linguistic and cultural context gives them the ability to use the social codes that come with it. Your school is training young adults who have access to two worlds in which they can adapt.

4 reasons to join Academica International Studies

Enrich your bilingual programs

Offering the Dual Diploma Academica is an undeniable addition to you school’s foreign language offerings. Whether you already have international sections, bilingual classes, or not, offering the American Baccalaureate in France is a real plus. The diploma enriches your program with bilingual teaching and provides a globally recognized American diploma.

Reach out to a large American and International Network

Joining the Academica International Studies program leads you to join a large network of schools around the world. There are more than 600 partner institutions in Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, etc.) and Latin America. These schools benefit from AIS expertise and offer a multicultural learning environment. Students participate in clubs and projects with foreign and American students.

Thus, your school participates in the program’s global outreach and meets parental expectations. By providing international exposure crucial for their children’s future.

Enrich your school educational project

Does your school want to develop its expertise in foreign language teaching? Offering the Dual Diploma Academica is an opportunity to import a proven and innovative pedagogy.

Distance learning courses will be taught by native speakers, with the same content and methods as in the United States. Thus, students study as if they were in a real American high school. They follow American curriculum and experience alternative teaching methods like reversed, differentiated, or “helping hands” pedagogies.

« We learn with our mistakes and not just against them, and it is by making them and thinking about them that we give ourselves the means to avoid them ». Yves Reuter, professor of French didactics at the University Charles de Gaulle – Lille 3

This immersion is a foreign culture is a very enriching way to follow a language program, far from the classic academic teaching. Here, the student learns in English, enrichies his/her general culture, discovers how to study abroad and practices the language in a new way. Communication and oral expression become paramount in their progress.

Barbara Abdelilah-Bauer, a psychosocial linguist, has calculated that a child would need a minimum of 2,700 hours of exposure to a second language to start becoming bilingual. In France, in a bilingual class, a child who will have seven hours per week of another language (i.e., it is more like 3 to 4 hours in middle school), will only have had 756 hours of linguistic input during three years of schooling.

As a school administrator, you can offer your students a much more significant and varied linguistic input over a longer period of time, two essential criteria for the development of their language skills.

A network of French partner schools

Academica International Studies, thanks to its know-how and experience in bilingual education, has become the partner of more than 50 French schools. These partnerships allow students interested in the Academica Dual Diploma program to benefit from preferential rates while being coached by a dedicated teacher in their school.

In the partner schools, a teacher named Program Directo is the main contact between the students, the parents and the American teachers of the program. Her/She monitors the students’ progress to ensure that the program is running smoothly. He/She also coordinates enrollment and works to maintain relationships between the teaching staff, the partner school, the children and their parents.

Discover the Dual Diploma Academica program team.

Some testimonials from partner schools

The implementation of the Dual Diploma Academica is an enriching experience for both the students and the teachers in charge of the program. They appreciate benefiting from the advantages of this program during their career in education.

For Florence Viquerat, referent teacher at the Lycée Stanislas Cannes, «The Dual Diploma program has been very beneficial and satisfying for me and my students» who, she explains, have improved considerably in English and have gradually become more independent. The Academica educational program has also been a very positive project from a personal perspective

At Saint Joseph de Tivoli in Bordeaux, Karin Colinet adds that « this diploma offers a rich subjet program, English immersion and promotes the student’s personal development ». According to her, the student evolves in a real community thanks to the global exchanges he/she can have with other students. The curriculum is followed all over the world. Karin Colinet has only one reservation for the success of the double degree. The student must really want to be part of this program and must commit to doing quality work every week. « Following this training requires willpower, rigor, autonomy and time management », according to this experienced teacher.

At Lasalle Maravillas in Madrid, Conchita Franco Gay has been in charge of the program for over ten years. She appreciates the professionalism of the teaching staff involved, as well as what the program brings to the students. She also notes that it is « one of the best experiences of her career, as well as her teaching experience in New York ».

So, don’t hesitate…

Join the more than 600 institutions around the world that are already enjoying the benefits of the Academica International Studies program. With its innovative pedagogy and international outlook, your institution will be even more responsive to the challenges and concerns of today’s ever-changing world.

And in times of isolation, following the cases of Covid-19 in the world, distance learning has allowed students to continue their academic studies without interruption.

With the Dual Diploma Academica, your students prepare for their future, and are equipped to adapt to an increasingly competitive job market. As a partner, your school benefits from Academica’s experience and international network. This puts you on the international stage and allows you to meet the expectations of parents and children who want to benefit from the advantages of bilingualism. Convinced?

Become an Academica Dual Diploma partner school

Testimony of Alissa Longo, teacher

“My name is Alissa Longo. I live in Northern Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C.. This year marks my 14th year teaching. I received my bachelor’s degree from Towson University in Maryland and my master’s degree from Wright State University in Ohio. I am happily married to my high school sweetheart and we have a little boy named Preston and a little girl named Shelby. My goal is to create impactful learning experiences for my students that are unforgettable ( in order to help reach their highest potential.)”

Testimony of Heather Simmons, teacher

“Hello! My name is Heather Simmons, and I am excited to be a Global Teacher with the Dual Diploma Program. Born and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina, I moved to DeFuniak Springs, Florida with my husband (Josh) in 2005 and since have had three children (Reagan, Amelia, and Lucas). I received my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Science in Education from Troy University in Troy, Alabama. I have been teaching for eleven years and have a passion for seeing my students learn, excel, and succeed. Prior to joining the Dual Diploma faculty, I spent seven years as a traditional classroom teacher and three years as a media specialist. It is my belief that education can change the world. By providing my students with an engaging and effective learning environment, I am not just teaching them a skill but helping students become lifelong learners“

Testimony of Anna, Dual Diploma student

“Hello! I’m Anna and I’m 15 years old. I have a little brother. I’m French and I live in Paris near Bastille Quarter. I love dancing, playing the guitar, reading, drawing, and spending some time with my friends! At school, I prefer studying Biology and Physics. I also love traveling and discovering new things, news places, new people, and also speaking English! It’s the reason I study with the Dual Diploma Program. With it, I learned that I love taking photographs and learning all the techniques of this art. I’m very happy and so proud to be the student of the month of March !”