5 schools across Chicago and Illinois — including LaSalle Language Academy (free K–8 magnet) and two private AEFE-affiliated schools.
Illinois has 5 French-language schools, split between Chicago proper and the university city of Champaign-Urbana. Chicago’s three French schools represent the full spectrum: LaSalle Language Academy, a Chicago Public Schools magnet offering free French dual language from K through 8th grade on the North Side; and two private AEFE-affiliated institutions — Lycée Français de Chicago (Streeterville, one of the largest French private schools in the Midwest) and École Franco-Américaine de Chicago (Lincoln Park).
Champaign-Urbana, 135 miles south of Chicago near the University of Illinois campus, has two public French immersion programs: Stratton Academy of the Arts and Yankee Ridge Elementary. The university community’s international character makes Champaign-Urbana one of the more surprising pockets of French immersion infrastructure in the Midwest.
LaSalle Language Academy is the only tuition-free French immersion option in the Chicago metro. It serves K–8 with a lottery, and is one of the most recognized bilingual magnet schools in Illinois.
Chicago & Illinois has 5 French immersion and dual-language schools — 3 free public or charter programs and 2 private schools.
Private French school tuition in Chicago & Illinois runs from about $28,925 to $29,500 per year. Public and charter immersion programs are tuition-free.
Yes. Chicago & Illinois has 3 tuition-free French immersion programs in public or charter schools. Many use a lottery or an attendance zone for admission.
Chicago & Illinois has 2 schools accredited by the French Ministry of Education (AEFE/MLF), following the French national curriculum toward the French Baccalaureate.
Grade ranges vary by school — from preschool (maternelle / pre-K) through elementary, with several continuing into middle and high school. Use the filters above to compare each school’s grade levels.
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