The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) and Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser have welcomed 80 teachers from 9 countries to work in Louisiana public schools starting in the 2023-2024 school year. The event assists teachers from France, Belgium, Canada, Senegal, Cameroon, Lebanon, Spain, and Mexico as they settle into Louisiana and begin contracts to teach in French and Spanish immersion programs in public schools across the state.
In 2016 and again in 2020, Lt. Governor Nungesser signed and renewed the French-Louisiana Accords, which are instrumental in growing the state's French immersion programs in education from elementary school through university studies.
“We are very grateful for all the new international teachers. It is not easy to leave your country, pack up your life, move across the Atlantic Ocean, and start a new adventure, but the lucky ones are the Louisiana children who will be in their classrooms, learning in French and Spanish, and at the same time, learning a different culture. This will enrich their lives and make them better global citizens,” said CODOFIL Executive Director Peggy Feehan.
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana is a state agency tasked with the development and promotion of the French language in Louisiana.