As far as the administrators, faculty, staff and parents at Ecole Kenwood are concerned, it's tres magnifique.
The Columbus City Schools French immersion program at 3770 Shattuck Ave. in northwest Columbus was recently presented with the Label FrancEducation international accreditation.
The award was presented during a school assembly by Consul General Guillame Lacroix and Deputy Cultural Attache Marine Reuflet of the French Consulate in Chicago, according to the announcement from the district.
"It's very cool," Principal Emma Corbin said last week. "We're very excited."
Created in 2012, the Label FrancEducation is awarded by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to French-speaking bilingual excellence sectors offering a reinforced French language education and at least one non-linguistic discipline in French according to a website for the honor
As of December 2017, the network has 209 bilingual branches in 44 countries, which enroll 95,000 students in primary and secondary education according to the site.
The Columbus schools announcement said Ecole Kenwood is one of only 36 schools in the United States to receive the recognition, and the only one in Ohio.
"That was just a huge honor, to have them walking through our building ... and being able to compare ourselves to the major cities, the New Yorks and the Chicagos and their immersion programs," Corbin said.
"It means we're doing a good job," said Isabelle Cadenel, a third-grade teacher who helped pull together the materials needed to apply for the Label FrancEducation. "We have a quality product," she said.
"As a parent, I was thrilled to see that Kenwood received the Label," Amanda McClafferty, wrote in an email.
"I know the hard work all of the teachers and staff put in to make this immersion program work," wrote McClafferty, the mother of a first-grader.
"I know the 30-year history of excellence in education that led to this honor. I know the push for students to not only learn French language, but to celebrate the cultures and places where French is spoken, making immersion education a global experience, not just one where students learn a second language.
"I have so much pride knowing that Ecole Kenwood is now recognized for its dedication to education, culture and language by the French government."
Collecting the documentation needed to seek the honor was a reward in itself, according to Corbin, now in her third year at Ecole Kenwood.
"It helped us to really highlight and fine-tune the purity of our product, making sure as a model of French immersion that we're staying true to our mission," she said.
During the awards assembly a few weeks ago, Corbin said one of the French Consulate representatives told her Ecole Kenwood's program was comparable to one offered at a private school in Chicago to mostly wealthy families.
She said that was especially gratifying because Ecole Kenwood's students come from throughout Columbus.
"The reaction of the staff was pride because we were officially on the map," Corbin said. "It was just the icing on top of the cake.
"We have to continue to live up to it."
"It's just a reward for what we've been doing," said Cadenel, who is in her 22nd year at Ecole Kenwood.
"I know this will help spread the word about this amazing program and take us to the next level in educational excellence," McClafferty wrote.
kparks@thisweeknews.com
@KevinParksTW1