Global & Community Engagement

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Inspiring Students to Make a Positive Difference

A central part of the Lycée’s mission is to develop students who are at home in the world and inspired to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

As a bilingual, multicultural school in one of the world’s most international cities, we connect students’ global perspectives with meaningful community action. From an early age, they learn that their voices, languages, and experiences can contribute to local and global communities in real and lasting ways.

A Schoolwide Commitment

In 2025, the Lycée established a Department of Global Engagement and Student Leadership to bring together service learning, experiential education, leadership development, and global programming.

Its purpose is to:

  • Develop global awareness and intercultural competencies among students
  • Strengthen student agency and leadership opportunities
  • Connect authentic learning to real-world impact
  • Integrate co-curricular activities as a co-equal component of the school mission
  • Encourage ethical responsibility toward local and global communities

Experiential and service-learning are how we make learning authentic and relevant for students and their futures. Through sustained opportunities for service, leadership, and reflection, students come to see engagement not as an activity, but as a mindset. They leave the Lycée prepared academically, with the awareness, empathy, and commitment to engage as active and responsible citizens.

Andrew Stephens
Director of Global Engagement and Student Leadership
Meet Andrew

In Primary School

Lycée Cares is an annual fall initiative that encourages our students to engage in community service in their early years, along with their families through a long-standing partnership with City Harvest.

In the weeks leading up to the event, our Primary students explore issues of hunger and food insecurity in New York City. By examining these challenges in class, students find real purpose and meaning to their participation.

The whole community then participates in a food drive and comes together as families to pack bags for distribution to local food pantries and children across the city.

In Middle & High Schools

Civic learning is an integral part of student life. Beginning in Grade 7, students are required to complete a minimum number of community service hours through school initiatives, clubs, service-learning trips, and partnerships with local non-profits. These experiences help them understand social challenges while contributing directly to their communities.

Student-led groups extend this work, especially in sustainability and social impact. The Eco-Delegates program, open from Grade 4 through High School and an extension of student government, develops environmental leadership through projects connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Students lead initiatives, organize engagement days, and collaborate with peers from bilingual French schools across North America.

High school students further deepen their engagement through conferences, such as the National Student Civic Leadership Summit, internships, and leadership programs that connect them with broader civic communities and inspire action back at school.

Local & Global Service Learning

Service-learning connects curriculum and instruction with active, real-world participation. Students participate in projects and travel opportunities—locally and internationally—that foster reflection, collaboration, and thoughtful engagement with complex social issues.

  • In Middle School, students may take part in a service-learning trip to Detroit, where they study local history and partner with community organizations on meaningful projects related to urban farming and renewal.
  • A long-standing partnership in Hué, Vietnam, brings a group of Grade 10 students each year for a week of service with local children. Students lead small classes in English, lead art workshops, and take part in joint activities with the children. Separately, they explore cultural sites connected to key periods of Vietnam’s recent history, from French colonialism to the Vietnam War.

Social Entrepreneurship

All Grade 9 students complete a semester-long course in social entrepreneurship called “Be the Change.”  They explore topics to identify a real-world challenge of interest to them and then design a solution through a team project inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The course culminates in Start-Up Lycée – Social Entrepreneurship Day, when students work with entrepreneurs, business, and nonprofit leaders from the school parent and alumni community to refine their ideas into practical initiatives. Recent projects have included an e-waste reduction app, a feminine-care kit for teens, and a platform for sharing used goods locally.

Our Mission in Action

Lycée Cares: a community service initiative against food insecurity

Lycée Cares is an annual service initiative in partnership with City Harvest aimed at fighting food insecurity across New York City.

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