For the first time since its inception, the French-American School of New York has graduated a class of twelfth graders. On Sunday, June 14, 23 members of the Class of 2009 received diplomas from Robert Leonhardt, head of school, in a ceremony at the Woman’s Club of White Plains.
Four of the graduates had entered FASNY as nursery schoolers, 15 years ago, and were honored at graduation. The entire class presented a class gift to the school, a coat of arms, which they had forged themselves.

Morgane Lebeuf (left) and Claire Bourziex present the class gift.
The School opened with one nursery class in 1980. Until recently, students had to transfer to other schools to complete their high school education.
”This is a year without precedent in our school’s brief but rich history, said Mr. Leonhardt. “We are now a full-fledged high school.”
The graduates received an American high school diploma and recently took the French baccalauréat, which will allow some to attend French universities. The Class of 2009 has been accepted to colleges and universities that include Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and international colleges, such as Concordia, McGill, Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, and St. Andrews.

Camille Gallois (left) and Alexandre Mihailescu enjoy the graduation ceremony.
FASNY now has three Westchester campuses, all with a bilingual academic program. The Pre-School is in Scarsdale. The Lower School is in the Village of Larchmont, and the Upper School is in the Village of Mamaroneck.