Early history

The French-American School of New York was founded in 1980 to provide a bilingual education to students.^[2] Located in the building of a former Catholic school in Larchmont, New York, the school employed two teachers and provided education at the nursery school, kindergarten, and first grade level, with the intent to add one grade per year as the time progressed.^[2][3] In November 1980, the then-nineteen-student school received a provisional charter from the New York State Regents.^[4] The school's original students included students of American, French, Canadian, Chinese, and Vietnamese descent.^[4]

Enrollment in the French-American School of New York expanded rapidly in its first several years.^[5] While the school started with sixteen students on its rolls, the school had enrolled twenty-six students by the end of its first academic year.^[3] The school expanded rapidly going into its second academic year, enrolling forty-nine students at it onset and adding a second grade classroom.^[3] By January 1982, the school had seventy students on its rolls and announced plans to add both a third and fourth grade classroom by the onset of its fourth academic year.^[5] By the end of its third academic year, the school had increased its enrollment to 128 students.^[6] The size of its student population further increased by the start of its fourth academic year to about 185 students.^[7]