The French American Academy of Jersey City will offer the first “Candidate” High School International Baccalaureate program in Jersey City as it expands to a new campus in the Heights. It is currently a Candidate School for the Middle Years Program.The school will open its doors for the 2025-2026 school year at 118 Ferry Street, the former location of St. Nicholas Catholic School, after learning about its closure in local media. It will be starting with a cohort of ninth-grade students and expanding one grade every year.“Our school is the heart of an internationally-minded community. Our philosophy and teaching practices have consistently attracted families with high educational aspirations and shared values. Now, we are ready to extend that community with an innovative high school that has the potential to redefine Jersey City’s educational landscape,” said Head of School Anne-Sophie Gueguen.Gueguen founded the FAA in Bergen County 17 years ago. In 2012, she expanded the school to downtown Jersey City, and opened the classroom in 2013 to pre-K to first-grade students, adding a grade every year. Currently, the FAA serves about 300 students from pre-K to eighth grade.Guegeun and Eric Woodward, FAA’s High School Director, attribute the success of the school to its core three pillars: academic excellence, character development, and a project-based approach to learning.The FAA’s offerings provide students with a bilingual education, opportunities to develop leadership skills and risk-taking, and hands-on learning experiences designed to foster a love for learning, open-mindedness, and cultural acceptance.According to Woodward, the IB is a natural extension of this approach. “The IB’s mission is to create ethical, globally-minded citizens who believe in creating a more sustainable and peaceful world. And that really fits with the vision and values of the FAA,” he said. “The IB encourages students to maintain a breadth of knowledge as opposed to becoming super specialized in one subject area. They’re required to have a good strong balance of skills and all subjects are weighted equally, which enables us to design a program around the cohort of students that we have and their interests.”Woodward also emphasized that the IB is an advanced academic program that “is a direct pathway into some of the most well-respected colleges in the States and globally.”The United States is one of the largest participants in the IB Program, with nearly 2,000 schools offering IB courses. Globally, more than 5,000 schools across 156 countries are part of the IB network.The new high school will include facilities such as a theater, gym, industrial kitchen, cafeteria, and is near Pershing Park, which offers access to a swimming pool, sports fields, and tennis courts. In the future, it will also offer sports programs, partnerships with international IB schools and overseas school visits, and cross-grade peer learning opportunities.Families interested in the new high school can submit an Expression of Interest Form on the school’s website or attend one of its upcoming open house events.The post French American Academy to Offer First High School ‘Candidate’ IB Program in Jersey City appeared first on Jersey City Times.