Renaissance students Preston Ward (7th grade), Carla Impoco Duclos (8th grade), Victory Adazie (8th grade), Elinor Pittman (8th grade), and Elise Crawford (8th grade), have ranked nationally in the 86th annual Le Grand Concours (National French Contest), according to Lisa Narug, National Director. Le Grand Concours is a national competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF). Students were evaluated for their written, oral and listening comprehension skills in French.
In spite of the pandemic and all of the difficulties overcome in schools this past year, nearly 30,000 students in all 50 states competed in the 2021 event. Ward, Impoco Duclos, Adazie, and Pittman received Mention d’honneur, ranking in the top percentiles both locally and nationally; Crawford received the Gold award, ranking #1 in the New Jersey Chapter and #3 in the nation. April Peters, their French teacher, said, “In addition to the pandemic, my students surmounted challenges, such as remote learning constraints and previous interruptions in their instruction. They still took the leap to engage in Le Grand Concours. We positioned it as an experiential learning opportunity that would benefit them as language learners, regardless of placement, so I am extremely proud of them all.”
“As the president of AATF, I would like to extend my special congratulations to those students who ranked nationally in Le Grand Concours,” said Anne Jensen. “They have shown a superior level of French language skills, cultural competence, and commitment to French. It is my hope that these students will continue their interest in French and pursue study and travel opportunities as future ambassadors of the French language and the many cultures it represents. I would also like to congratulate the teachers who prepared nationally ranked students because without their dedication and hard work these students would not have attained their ranking. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the parents who have supported and advocated for the French programs in their children’s schools. Our Association is grateful to the dedication and hard work of everyone who shares our passion for the promotion of French.”