The École
The École, formerly Ecole Internationale de New York, is an independent French-American school, which internationally teaches students from 2 to 14 years old in New York City’s Flatiron District.
As a French school, students are taught bilingually in both French and English, making it one of the few hundred bilingual schools in the United States.
The École is fully accredited by the French Ministry of Education from Maternelle through Middle School and is a member of the Agency for French Education Abroad network. It is also affiliated with the Mission Laïque Française and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.
The École has over 90 different after-school educational, sporting or artistic activities on offer. It also organizes camps during the October, February, Spring, and Summer breaks to promote bilingualism. The École students go on field trips to New York’s many cultural and historic institutions, and on overnight trips in the US and abroad. The École Falcons participate in the Confederation of New York Schools and Team Sports volleyball, basketball, and soccer leagues.
The École's elementary and middle school building is located at 115 East 22nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, where it accommodates grades 1-8, while the Maternelle preschool is at 206 Fifth Avenue between West 25th and 26th Streets, a five-floor building accommodating pre-nursery to kindergarten students.
As of 2025, The École has a student body of 357. Each class has between 12 and 20 students, and each grade level has no more than two classes.
History
The school opened in September 2009, making it the third French international school in Manhattan. Yves Rivaud founded École Internationale. Rivaud decided to create the school because Manhattan needed a real French American bilingual school, and he believed he would easily fill the school's enrollment upon opening.Yves Rivaud retired in August 2020 and was replaced as head of school by Jean-Yves Vesseau. In September 2021, The École opened its first Pre-Nursery class.
Léman High School with The École
In 2022, The École signed a partnership with Léman Manhattan to create a bilingual high school program. The program is an extension of The École’s French-American dual curriculum in 9th and 10th Grade and transitions to a bilingual IB diploma program during the final two years of high school.
The IB diploma is recognized as one of the strongest college preparatory programs worldwide and is an impressive qualification for college applicants. Léman High School with The École provides a rigorous curriculum for high school students interested in pursuing a dual-language French program. Students enrolled in the program have the benefit of all the resources Léman has to offer, including a robust literature, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and athletics high school curriculum, with the added advantage of electives taught in French by The École teachers.
In the summer of 2025, The École’s Elementary & Middle School Building moved next door, from 111 to 115 East 22nd Street, doubling its square footage from 23,000 to 46,000 square feet over two and a half floors, creating larger classrooms, adding more specialty classrooms, providing plenty of dedicated space for everyone, and fulfilling its objective of two classes per grade from 1st through 8th Grade.