Lafayette To Bring 1st Public Dual-Language High School To UWS

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — A public middle school that teaches students in French and English is hoping an expansion into high school grades will fill a lack of dual-language options for older students in New York City.

Lafayette Academy, which runs in the Joan of Arc building on West 93rd Street, won support from Community Board 7 on Tuesday to add four more grades and start offering a specialized diploma that will prepare students for high-paying international jobs.

School leaders said the expansion — which will mean the school will teach grades six through 12 instead of six through eight — will mean students who start in one of the city's many dual-language elementary programs will have somewhere to go when they get older.

"[70 percent] of Department of Education dual-language programs are elementary schools," Lafayette Principal Brian Zager told the board. "They have no place to go after this — I want to take them to the next level."

According to a list of dual language programs offered by the Department of Education, all programs in District 3, where Lafayette Academy resides, are for either elementary or middle school students.

To offer that next level, Lafayette Academy plans to become an International Baccalaureate school, a specialized certification from the Switzerland-based organization that aims to prepare students for a globalized world.

Zager said the additional program and adding on grades nine through 12 will mean finding new space for the school, since the Joan of Arc building doesn't have enough room for the expansion.

It will also mean the school needs more funding to train its teachers for the IB program, Zager said. The Community Board 7 resolution supporting the school's expansion calls on the DOE and elected officials to help with this process.

Lafayette will give preference to the Upper West Side's District 3 schools when accepting students into its programs, Zager said.

He added that IB program, along with the existing French and English dual-language curriculum at Lafayette, will mean students can prepare for jobs after graduation usually only reserved for those that go to expensive international private schools, Zager said.

"We're going to open up pathways for kids who maybe never thought a second language would get them to that next place, who didn't think that international jobs were even possible," he said. "It will be unlike any school New York City has ever had."