Lindsay Smythe

The French language is a vital part of Acadiana’s culture. At the newly formed École Saint-Landry, Principal Lindsay Smythe is teaching a new generation of Louisiana’s youth the French language while providing a comprehensive education.

École Saint-Landry is a full French immersion charter school, which means all subjects are taught in French except for English language arts. The idea initially came from local architect and former State Rep Stephen Ortego.

Smythe, then a French teacher at Lafayette High School, attended the first exploratory meeting on opening the new school in December 2016. École Saint-Landry first opened its doors to students for the 2021-2022 school year at the site of the former Sunset High School, a building on the National Register of Historic Places.

A Cameron Parish native, Smythe was a natural fit for the principal position because she had extensive classroom experience, spoke fluent French, and had a principal’s certification. The now 44-year-old Smythe did not learn French until she was 31, when she traveled to Nova Scotia to attend an immersion program at the Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia.

Smythe said immersion schools are important because it is easier to learn a foreign language in childhood than adulthood.

“Kids are sponges,” Smythe said.

Even more importantly, immersion can level the playing field for disadvantaged students.

“Immersion is the great equalizer,” Smythe said. Regardless of a student’s financial background, everyone is starting from square one when learning a new language. “We want any child, no matter what their background is, to have the benefits of a bilingual brain.”

One challenge a full immersion school faces is finding teachers who are both fluent French speakers and qualified to teach their subject. To fill this gap, École Saint-Landry utilizes many teachers on cultural exchange visas. These teachers are allowed to stay in the United States for up to five years. A benefit of this program is the children get to hear French spoken in different accents, as teachers have hailed from places like France, Belgium and Senegal.

Currently, École Saint-Landry has 174 students in grades K-3. A new grade (about 70 students) will be added each year until it becomes a K-8 school.

When she is not working for École Saint-Landry, Smythe is an avid traveler who enjoys spending time with her husband and cat. A former college javelin thrower at LSU, she always enjoys watching sports of all kinds.