Escadrille Louisiane is a program for Louisianians with a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution who aspire to teach French in Louisiana schools. Named after Escadrille Lafayette, a group of 200 Americans who trained as pilots to fly for the French during World War I, the goal of Escadrille Louisiane is to fill Louisiana schools with qualified and certified fluent-French speakers from Louisiana who have their state’s heritage languages and culture at heart.
Requirements
Those wishing to participate in Escadrille Louisiane must qualify for Centenary College's Master of Arts in Teaching Program. To be eligible for this degree program, students must have a non-education bachelors degree from a regionally accredited college or university, a 2.5 grade point average (on the 4.0 grade point scale) and be academically eligible to return to their previous institutions. Applicants must also provide passing scores on the Praxis I - Core Academic Skills for Educators tests in Reading, Writing, and Math and on the Praxis II - Elementary Education 1-5: Content Knowledge test.
Escadrille Louisiane participants work as English language assistants in Rennes, France while attending Université de Rennes and receiving credit towards their degree and certification from Centenary College.
Application Process
To apply for Escadrille Louisiane, prospective participants must first submit a Teaching Assistant Program in France application (tapif.org) by January 15th and check the box indicating interest in the Escadrille Louisiane program. TAPIF will then send the results for all Louisiana applicants to the Consulat Général de France in New Orleans. Potential Escadrille Louisiane participants will then be contacted to schedule an interview. Prior to the interview, Escadrille Louisiane applicants will send an official college transcript and a letter of motivation as well as any other additional requested information to La Fondation Louisiane (735 Jefferson Street, Lafayette, LA 70501). This interview should take place in early March in Lafayette.
The Escadrille Louisiane committee will select the best candidates who agree to dedicate the three years following their participation in the program to teaching French in a Louisiana school. In exchange, the program offers each participant coverage for the PRAXIS exams, round-trip airfare to France, a teaching stipend of approximately $1,000/month and pedagogical training.
Please contact the Education Department at Centenary College at 318.869.5223 or the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL)at 337.262.5983 with any questions.