Parlez-Vous Loyola? French Academic Exchange Program Debuts

By Lori Crawford-Dixon, French Teacher and Cédric Ebiner, Department Chair, French, Latin

In the spring of 2018, Madame Sophie Breme, an English teacher at a Jesuit college-preparatory K-12 school in Reims, France, sent a blast email to similar high schools in the United States, inquiring if any would be interested in partnering with her to take students on exchange trips. Cédric Ebiner, long-time French and Latin teacher at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, forwarded the email to Lori Crawford-Dixon who had just accepted a French teaching position at LHS. From there a fruitful collaboration was born that, four-and-a-half years later, culminated in a rich and life-changing experience for 32 French and American high school students.

The first step to making the dream a reality was garnering administrative support. With the helpful guidance of Director of the Office for Global Education Dan Annarelli, whose vision and expertise were a keystone to the success of the program, Mr. Ebiner and Ms. Crawford-Dixon presented a proposal outlining the program objectives: to provide a transformative intercultural experience for LHS students of French by establishing a sustainable academic exchange program.

Aligned with the vision and mission of Jesuit Secondary Education and embedded in the Grad-at-Grad* objectives, the academic component is the distinguishing feature of the program. “Our vision is for the guest student and host brother to select a topic of common interest related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals that they investigate jointly on both sides of the exchange and co-author a presentation.”

By researching an issue of global import on both sides of the Atlantic, the student pairs have the opportunity to reflect on the practices and perspectives of their home countries, compare how their countries address the

I have a good understanding of French cultural practices in their homes and schools. (16 responses) issue, and then offer a combined solution, the product of which could be a letter written to elected officials. Student outcomes would be abundant: increased globalmindedness, intercultural consciousness and linguistic competency, forged relationships between our schools and countries and friendships that will last a lifetime.

The total cultural and linguistic immersion of students is another distinctive component of the program. After a brief orientation in Paris, LHS students took a 45-minute train ride to Reims, a city to the northeast of the capital, where their French host families were waiting. From there the Cubs attended classes at the high school, participated in afternoon excursions and lived in French households or the on-campus dormitory.

The excursions included a tour of a former Jesuit college and a trip to the Four à Bois, a premier boulangerie in the heart of the city where the Cubs learned how to make croissants and bake baguettes. The exchange was reciprocated on February 6, when all 16 French students and their chaperones accompanied the Cubs back to the United States.

For an additional two weeks, the French students lived with the families of their American brothers, attended classes at LHS and became acquainted with the City of Los Angeles, from Griffith Park to Universal Studios. Per one grateful student, “L’entièreté de mon séjour était incroyable.” (The entirety of my trip was incredible.)

The success of this program, from its inception to its implementation, was a communal effort grounded in the culture of Magis at Loyola High School. It is a flagship program that offers students the opportunity to develop as globally-minded leaders with cultural and linguistic capabilities they will carry forward to their careers and society.

We are grateful to the entire LHS community, to our alumni who contribute to the summer professional development funds, to the Offices of Advancement, Admissions and Global Education who support our initiative, and to our generous administrators and colleagues who guest lectured, helped chaperone, drove school vans and opened their classrooms and homes to our guests. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Jack Paris ’23, headed to MIT: I’m grateful for being able to experience an authentic French teenager’s life and to do so many fun things while also improving my French skills. I would love to study abroad in France in college because I have had such a good time here. I’m very grateful to everyone who helped plan/organize this exchange program. It has been one of the most fun, interesting and all-around amazing experiences I’ve ever had.

Anthony Cruz ’23, headed to USC: The technique for making croissants at the bakery was quite involved. One of our Cubs didn’t do it correctly and needed help from the baker to scrape the dough off of his hand with a special tool! 

Sylvan Maggiotto ’24: We traveled on our own to get to a steak and fries dinner/restaurant. I asked for medium rare. Never doing that again in France. Cultural observation: life is slower in France.