Success story, a set of two words that rhymes with United States. In partnership with USAFrance Financials, a private management firm specializing in the heritage issues of the French community in the United States, we invite you to read the extraordinary journey of women and men living in New York. Today, we have an appointment with Laurence and Philippe Roux, benefactors of The École.
Two decades after settling in the United States, Laurence and Philippe Roux resume The School, a bilingual school of excellence in the heart of Manhattan. In five years, including two years under the sign of the Covid, the couple of benefactors revolutionized their school. While nothing predestined the couple to embark on this adventure, they tell us their success story, that of a teaching project on a human scale placed under the sign of agility, openness and accomplishment. .
The School, bilingual school and success story
Laurence and Philippe Roux landed in the United States in 1994. It was in New York that Philippe began a promising career in finance. Over time, and for Philippe’s job, the couple went to live on Long Island, Laurence gave birth to their two children there. When the time came and the question of schooling for their offspring came, the couple returned to Manhattan to enroll their children in The School, then called the International School where the bilingual education offered corresponded to their family project. At that time, nothing predestined the couple to go back to school, ” we were then happy to have only to pay our tuitions smiles Philippe Roux. The School is growing, developing at full speed. A little too quickly, perhaps. ” The founders failed to manage growth and the school lost its way on many levels “, explains the benefactor. And Laurence to add ” after three years, the parents began to ask themselves a lot of questions, the school was financially fragile ».
The school finds itself overwhelmed by management problems, by the departure of disappointed families, by a flagrant lack of transparency, but also, ” the original and family spirit had been lost with the growth and increase in the number of families “, deplores the couple. What made the DNA of the school and marked its difference is gradually being lost. A disappointment for families whose children had been in school for a few years and who had just been seduced by this family spirit. At Human scale. ” We talked less about programs, less about pedagogy, bilingualism was less strong than it is now, notes Philippe Roux.
In 2016, three years after the arrival of the Roux children in the school, a group of parents formed with the desire to take matters into their own hands. The couple then decides to go back to school as a duo. It was then that the International School became The School, that a board was created, that transparency was imposed. The Roux couple tailors The School according to their expectations, but also according to the expectations of families. The School becomes a family school, a community. Officially, the Roux couple became owners of The École in 2017. We took it back to save the school and take back this community of families explains Philip. Since then, the Roux couple have been called, the benefactors by The School. ” Owner has a business and financial connotation. It’s anything but a business for us,” says the couple. If The School is a “for-profit business” and families pay annual tuition fees, it is however managed as a “nonprofit organization “. Like a ” charity “. Central concept, even state of mind in the United States. And so important for the couple of benefactors.
A rebirth and building a community
As soon as they take the reins, The School is reborn from its ashes. A rebranding committee is formed. The school establishes new values, develops as a brand, in particular with the help of Christophe Attard, then parent of students. The image of the school is reinforced, a new name is found, new values are established, new resources are put in place, in particular thanks to real human resources work. Families regain a central place and reform this community so dear to benefactors. More and more events punctuate the life of the school, reinforcing the family and friendly spirit of The School. Together they celebrate the milestones of the school year. It is not uncommon to see Laurence wandering the halls. A little word for everyone. Watchful. She ensures the smooth running of the school on a daily basis. A benefactress, but also a mother among all the others. She watches! With constant attention to detail. She and Jean-Yves Vesseau know the first name of each student.
In this school of excellence, the curriculum is central. In 2020, Jean-Yves Vesseau joins the school as director. It recreates a new team, always more efficient, always stronger. Among its skills, a teaching of excellence and an international scope.
Efficiency. A notion specific to Philippe Roux’s career as a trader. He brings this personal and professional experience to the heart of The School. He, who has been evolving for years in a human-sized company that only recruits the best, copies this scheme in his school. “ You have to hire the right people who will contribute to The School. The goal is to be the best. We do not compare ourselves to other schools, we want to do the best without trying to duplicate things that already exist,” he says.
Innovation. How to be the best? A central question at The School. “ You must never stop. Don’t be afraid to try new things. We have a boutique spirit, that is to say that we want to stay on a human scale, with two classes per level. This allows us to grow up to 360 students. Not beyond because we would lose our “community” aspect as well as we would lose agility “. At The École, innovation is pushed right through to the renovation of premises and the choice of furniture. In consultation with teachers. Reconfigure a class with specific furniture that will adapt to group or solo work, or to a specific program. During the renovation of the main building, some walls became movable, allowing one class to open onto the other, an invitation to cohesion. Walls you can also write on. Innovation and agility have no limits. At The École, they push the walls.
At the start of the 2022/2023 school year, 300 students – almost double compared to 2017, and despite two years of Covid – are expected. The number of teaching and administrative staff has also doubled, as have budgets. ” Build it and it will come,” explains Philippe, “ we did ten years of development in five years “. Under the three values of The School, agility, openness and accomplishment. And of course, under the sign of bilingual education. ” Bilingualism means treating both languages equally. In our school, we speak both languages equally, with no notion of ‘target language’ explains the couple. Students learn in English and French, they learn about the world through the prism of two cultures, without a dominant language.
Benefactors of The School
« We do not measure success in terms of finance since that is not our object, but in the number of students and families who identify with our project, ”explain the Roux. Listening is also part of success. The couple put a lot of energy into meeting all the families interested in The School. To learn from them. Success is in human terms. Even if it has a cost. Hiring the best, hosting students in the heart of Manhattan is expensive. And with it, tuition. Also, in a logic of charity – so dear to the couple – The School dedicates a budget six times larger than French scholarships to accommodate students whose families cannot afford to pay tuition fees. Next year, The École’s financial aid granted to less wealthy families will represent 15% of The École’s total budget. ” Our school’s own scholarships help a large number of families, especially those who do not have access to French government scholarships rejoices the couple. The benefactors of The School are always ready to help families when their priority is the education of their children. A main criterion. Central. ” As we are limited in size, we have this vision of what The École is, and we refuse families who do not have the same vision and who do not adhere to the project. explains Philippe Roux. You have to be in the spirit. A state of mind of community, of diversity — anchored in the DNA of The School —, of humanity where education is a priority, with the involvement of parents with their children. Community involvement.
The last stone in the building? A high school. ” Everyone was waiting for us to open a high school explains Philip. It’s done ! Léman Manhattan Preparatory School and The École combine their strengths, their skills and their desire to provide the best possible support for students and jointly open, at the start of the 2022/2023 academic year, a new English-French bilingual high school program. This project, born from the ambition of The School, will allow bilingual students to pursue their secondary studies in an environment of both excellence and bilingualism. With the objective of accessing the best universities, in particular thanks to the bilingual international baccalaureate. In this future program of excellence, the international baccalaureate will not only be central to education, but also an undeniable force for future students. And he is one of the strengths of the prestigious Léman Manhattan Preparatory School. Léman High School with The École thus responds effectively to the growing demand for language proficiency among students; and gives them the best chance to enter the best schools and for their future careers. Léman, which has extensive knowledge of the International Baccalaureate, already offers a bilingual IB diploma in Mandarin and plans to eventually offer it to Spanish-speaking students.
The School, students, families from different backgrounds but gathered around the same values, around the same educational involvement of their children, around bilingualism. They form a community that they like to celebrate. This is the success story of the couple of benefactors of The École, Laurence and Philippe Roux.
Replicating The School’s mindset elsewhere? An other idea…
Article written by Rachel Brunet, editor-in-chief of Le Petit Journal
–
