Teacher Recruitment

Teacher recruitment can be one of the most challenging aspects to setting up and sustaining a French DLI Program.

 French DLI Teachers are not only expected to have appropriate state teaching credentials, but also to be fluent speakers of French and trained in techniques of dual language/immersion pedagogy. Although there is no straigtforward solution, the section below gives different pipelines to recruiting French DLI teachers and advertisiing for jobs. 

See the Professional Development section for training opportunities. 

Teachers from France?

Sourcing teachers from France is at first glance the most straightforward way to staff a French DLI program. However, hiring teachers from France through official programs is a short-term solution. Although the number of teachers that can be sent to the United States is limited, this option is a good way to help launching a DLI program or staffing an existing one for two years, until a local candidate is certified to teach 

See details of programs below, as well as the subsequent section on sourcing for American teachers. 

General Calendar 

September: Program Jules Verne is being launched : all teachers interested receive an application form and must inform their supervisor(s) of their project.

October/November: Applications are being studied and approved by respective authorities. 

December: Information meeting for all pre-approved applicants (organized by the Région académique International Relations Department).

January: All applicants are interviewed and visited in their respective classroom.

End of January: Final selection and applications ready to send to American partners.

January to June: Work with partners and teachers until contract is signed, visa obtained and departure organized. 

Jules Verne

The Jules Verne program, operated by the French Ministry of National Education, offers teachers the opportunity to participate in an international mobility program in order to take part in a bilateral educational cooperation project and to consolidate or increase their language skills.

Their main mission is to teach in French. In agreement with the teacher concerned and with the French and foreign educational authorities in charge, part of this teaching may be given in a foreign language.

Each French Région académiques has its own partners, in various countries.

To participate and hire a teacher from France, a state/district or charter school must have a MOU for Cooperation signed with a specific French district education authority, indicating that schools can host a guest teacher from France on a J1 visa. 

Teacher's work obligations are defined by the host state/district/charter school. Travel expenses are paid either by the host state/district/charter school or by the teacher. Teachers receive a salary from the host state/district/charter school.

The Embassy has helped various states or districts establishing a partnership with French Régions académiques. Please contact the Education Attaché to learn more about this program and set it up in your district at mathieu.ausseil@frenchculture.org 

CODOFIL

Conseil pour le Développement du Français en Louisiane 

An historic  teacher exchange program sponsored by the French Consulate in New Orleans, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL). 

Please note that this program is limited to Louisiana. 

French Teaching Interns

The French Teaching Internship Program offers U.S. public schools with dual language or immersion programs the opportunity to welcome young French educators to train as teaching interns in their classrooms.  Interns are not expected to teach a class on their own, rather they bring additional support for classroom management and are an excellent source of native-language modeling. 

For more information, visit: http://frenchlanguagek12.org/dual-language/host-a-french-intern

French Teaching Interns can be sourced through:

Sourcing American Teachers

The below pipelines look at different databases of American teachers with the appropriate language skills and credentials to teach in French DLI classrooms.

TAPIF Pipeline

Former Teaching Assistants in France (TAPIF Alumni) who are interested in French Teaching positions in the US. 

These are Americans who have spent a year teaching in France and who have significant international teaching experience and an intermediate to high French proficiency. 

To source future teachers from this database, please reach out to the Educational Affairs department at the French Embassy.

FIT Fellowship university partners include: 
Georgia State University,Utah State University, University of Minnesota, Columbia University,Hunter College, The University of Utah,The University of Rhode Island, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The Queens College - CUNY
Updated 2022

FIT Fellows 

The Future Immersion Teacher (FIT) Fellowship 

The FIT Fellowship supports the next generation of French immersion teachers to meet the demands of the growing network of French dual language and immersion programs.

Through partnering with a select network of American universities, the FIT Fellowship has identified graduate degrees and specialized certifications in dual language and immersion education. Graduates from these programs are fully credentialed and prepared to teach in French Dual Language and Immersion classrooms.

Click here for more information.

Dual Language Job Boards

See below for different online job boards to advertise an open teach position.

Dual Language Schools

DualLanguageSchools.org is a free job posting service for dual language schools (all languages) across the United States. 

Visit the webpage at: https://duallanguageschools.org/jobs-add/