History

The French Immersion School of Washington was founded in 1999 by its director, Véronique Dussud, and its board chair, Brian Ball. Thanks to a few very dedicated people, the school opened its doors in September 1999, after a flurry of work over that summer. You can still see handprints of some of the original students in the concrete entrance to the school!

The school converted an existing office building into classrooms and enclosed the surrounding grounds as a safe playground. Several years later, an expansion added an exercise room, a library, and more classroom space to accommodate our plans for 200 students.

Now FISW is fully accredited by the French Ministry of Education for all grade levels and is close to full enrollment. Thanks to all the families who have helped to get us to this point!