I hope your break went well and that you were able to enjoy some well-deserved rest with your loved ones., whether in the snow or the sun, whether you travelled far or stayed close to home in NYC. For my part, I spent a scrumptious 10 days with my family in Lyon. I wish you all the very best for 2026 and hope the new year brings you every possible happiness. I would also like to quickly say get well soon to two of our parents who are recovering from skiing accidents (they’ll know who they are, and both are doing well – no need to worry!).
The start of the new year means it’s time for us to shift some of our focus to the 2026-2027 school year; you can find the calendar here. There was considerable internal debate about the first day of school in 2026, and, as we mentioned in the Memo on November 17, we ultimately opted to return to school after Labor Day, on Tuesday, September 8. As a result, we’ll wrap up the year a little later than usual, on Thursday, June 24, and take our Spring Break during the last two weeks of April, which should, at least partially, align with the public school break.
I would like to thank the many families who have already re-enrolled for 2026-2027 for their trust you have placed in us. As I write, we have 220 re-enrolled and 34 newly enrolled students, whose parents are receiving this letter for the first time today—welcome! We have received a record number of applications for next year, while fewer and fewer spaces are available in our classes. It may sound like an enviable position, but it’s pretty challenging for those of us who have worked tirelessly over the years to raise The École’s profile, because we really don’t like turning away families who would like to join us. I guess it’s the price to pay for our success, and I know we owe it, in large part, to the families who love our school and share their enthusiasm with their friends. Not a single admissions interview goes by without prospective families telling me all the good The École parents say about us, and I am extremely grateful for that. We’re keeping a close eye on our student numbers and promise to continue to limit each class to a maximum of 20 students from Kindergarten through 8th Grade.
The opening of a second 7th Grade class next year will mark an important milestone in the life of our Middle School. This growth, which, as you will recall, was the driving force behind our decision to move into a new space, will entail an increase in teaching hours at a moment when some of our Middle School colleagues are already working full-time and couldn’t possibly take on additional hours. For this reason, we’ve begun recruiting new Middle School colleagues to join the team, and I hope to be able to share some very exciting news with you in the coming weeks. As part of our Middle School’s growth, we’ll be welcoming a candidate for the position of Middle School Director on Monday and Tuesday. It wasn’t planned—for 2026 in any case!—but the possibility of creating the role emerged from a meeting during the conference I attended in Orlando in November. (It’s one of the things I love most about working at The École is our capacity to recognize and seize opportunities when they arise!) Nothing has been decided yet, but the ongoing dialogue we’ve had since November is very promising, and we hope that seeing The École in action will win the candidate over. I’ll share more details soon, but as you can imagine, a certain level of confidentiality is necessary at this stage.
So you get the gist, 2026 is going to be another exciting year at The École. Before I leave you, I have one more favor to ask: can you please give our newest students, Milo and Hugo, and their families a warm The École welcome? They’ll be joining our Nursery 2 class on Monday.