COM M U N I T Y
BY: CALLIE COLLINS
Expanding Worldviews
Le Monde International School offers tuition-free second language immersion option for middle school students
L
e Monde International School’s unique focus might be somewhat unexpected in central Oklahoma. Known for instruction in French and Spanish, the elementary school is expanding to offer middle school curriculum for the 20212022 school year. A new choice for parents of incoming middle school students will open for the 2021-2022 school year. Le Monde will now include seventh grade and eighth grade will be added to round out the full offering of junior high classes for the 20222023 school year. Sixth grade is already currently part of the school’s elementary-level offerings. The middle school is open for new enrollment and current elementary students can continue their education in the setting many have called a home away from home throughout childhood. “We see our students excel in our classrooms and in our community, through an enhanced awareness of the world we share,” said Lance Seeright, the school’s executive director. “There is a heavy language influence paired with service learning that gives children a different worldview.”
22 | April 2021
The school’s vision statement, to “educate students to understand, contribute to, and thrive in an interdependent world,” seems more relevant than ever with the global impact the pandemic has underscored. Many charter schools have a particular appeal or area of emphasis, and Le Monde’s ability to provide an immersive dual language environment sets it apart, along with a high standard of academic rigor. Middle school students will leave the school’s eighth-grade class having already earned their required foreign language credits, an undertaking that would ordinarily be completed in high school. New students do not need to speak another language or have previous language experience to join in middle school. Loida Salmond, president of the school’s board of education, said that staff have an important role in meeting students where they are. “That’s what we’re here for, to give them that opportunity,” explained Salmond. “As faculty and staff, our goal is to get to a more global worldview and foster the spirit of that vision statement.”
