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Student Life

Social Entrepreneurship

Tapping the natural empathy of bilingual students and the broad global perspective they gain here at the Lycée, a key aspect of our mission is inspiring our students to make a difference in the lives of others.
At the intersection of project-based learning and service learning, a semester-long course in social entrepreneurship is required of all ninth-grade students. The course culminates in Start-Up Lycée Social Entrepreneurship Weekend.

During the course, which is ungraded, and developed in partnership with DC-based Ashoka Youth Ventures and Paris-based Start-Up Lycée, students are invited to explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals and think carefully about an aspect of the goals that is most important to them. They then identify a societal problem and seek to find a solution in a group venture project.

In the final weekend of the program, they work for two days with entrepreneurs, many of whom are members of the alumni and parent community of the Lycée Français of New York, to hone their projects into viable start-up enterprises, which aim to improve the community around them them. Recent projects include an emergency kit of feminine care essentials for young teens, an e-waste reduction app, and a Craigslist-inspired site for sharing used goods.

Arthur Plaza, Dean of Innovation and Professional Learning

We are convinced that the best way to prepare our students to become ethical, active citizens is to confront them with reality by submitting challenges to them, accompanied by their teachers.
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