A Non-Profit French Immersion School in Lake Oswego
Starting school in a French International Preschool (La Maternelle) offers children a nurturing environment that is thoughtfully designed to support their development. From even infant and toddler age, children benefit from a curriculum that emphasizes creativity, autonomy, and early academic skills in a safe and caring atmosphere. This approach not only lays a strong foundation for primary education but also encourages language learning and cultural appreciation, setting children up for success in an increasingly global world.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a technologically, artistically, and critical-thinking-oriented environment for our students. We maximize individual potential and ensure that students of all ability levels are well-equipped to meet the challenges of education, work, and life. We strive to help our students discover who they are so they can proudly express and nurture their own ideas.
According to the research of Piaget, Lambert, and others, "The age of ten is a crucial time in the development of attitudes toward nations and groups perceived as 'other.' At age 10, children are in the process of moving from egocentricity to reciprocity, and information received before age 10 is eagerly absorbed." This is why ILA opened its first language daycare in 2016, serving children from 10 weeks to 2 years old, in addition to offering preschool through 6th grade education since 2010.
Our Core Values
At ILA, we believe every child can be a leader, and we value integrity, respect, and innovation as the keys to effective leadership. These core values are reflected in all areas of the school. We help each student develop their full potential by supporting creativity, adaptability, tolerance, self-confidence, resilience, humanism, pragmatism, and responsibility at the core of every curriculum initiative. We envision a world where people learn to respect, accept, and embrace the differences between us—this is the essence of what makes our world so beautiful.
Why Choose ILA
Hear from a parent about why they chose ILA over local public schools:
ILA provides a full-day French immersion education with native French speakers and Spanish instruction from a native speaker. All teachers at ILA hold a post-university one-year teaching certificate, including those teaching preschool and toddler classes. ILA offers small, intimate class sizes and fosters a nurturing community.
ILA’s kindergarten classes are tailored to the learning modes of 5-year-olds and each child’s developmental level, with time for sensory exploration, self-expression, and the arts. Kindergarten is still kindergarten. Common Core requirements are acknowledged but not strictly observed in the ILA curriculum. History, geography, social studies, cursive writing, art, and music remain integral parts of the curriculum.
The from scratch lunch program, offered five days a week, is just $5 per meal. Healthy, balanced meals are cooked fresh daily with many organic ingredients and fresh produce.
Unique Opportunities for ILA Students
ILA offers a unique academic structure of seven weeks of intensive learning followed by a one-week “Immersion Through Culture” session featuring circus, sports, cooking, and art. Music and P.E. instructions are provided twice per week by teachers certified in their fields. Students go on monthly field trips to OMSI, the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Art Museum, the pumpkin patch, and more. Grades 1-5 attend a four-day outdoor school at French Camp on Canoe Island and a ski field trip on Mount Hood.