I remember exactly the moment that I fell in love with all things French.  Having traveled the country extensively and mangled the language thoroughly, I decided to ask Maria Kurt, owner and founder of the French Institute of the North Shore how and why she fell in love with France and French culture.

And so it was her mother who inspired her and taught her that there is a much wider world out there beyond our own.  Although her family lived in quaint Whitefish Bay in Wisconsin, her mother loved the international community and traveled abroad often.  When Maria was 16 she went a a grand two-month tour of Europe where France inevitably grabbed her heart. 

Maria went on to major in French in college . . . then spent a year in Paris . . . then was awarded her Master's Degree in French and Education . . . then spent another year in Paris . . . and then taught high school French for many years.  In 1998 she opened the French Institute of the North Shore in Winnetka as an adult French language school.

In 2000 she bought the building where the school currently operates at 562 Green Bay Road in Winnetka and expanded it to include a French immersion preschool.  They offer classes for 3, 4, and 5 year olds for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week.  From day one, only French is spoken and within 1 month, the children are happily comprehending French stories with complete ease.  Maria says that the childrens' oral comprehension (the most difficult task for a student of language) is excellent since they have been hearing it spoken for so many years. After the children enter grammar school, the French Institute offers Continuing Education twice a week until they reach junior high. 

Students learn more than just the language - lots of fun cultural activities keep the children involved and motivated including a February 2 holiday that features crepe making and Mardi Gras in March.  The students have their own kitchen area to prepare French specialties.  

  Upon entering her foyer you will be pleasantly surprised to find yourself in an office building somehwere in Paris - such is the welcoming feeling of this salon-like room.  All rooms in the school are named:  the Paris and Versailles rooms for adult learning, Provence for the very country feeling kitchen, and L'Orangerie, le Jardin, and Le Cote d'Azure for the children's rooms.                 

  This year Maria has expanded to include Spanish   immersion classes in a new school called Spanish School Winnetka.  She envisions that the Spanish classes will overtake the French in enrollment within a short period of time based on the fact that the ratio of Spanish to French students at New Trier High School is 3 to 1. 

Maria's staff of teachers are all from France and generally take a year long sabbatical from their teaching jobs in France.  Her Spanish speaking teachers will come from various countries including Guatamala and Mexico.  Approximatley 50% of the students are from Winnetka and 50% for surrounding communities which brings in a diverse group of students.

If you would like to brush up your French or Spanish or would like to introduce your children to the wonders of another culture and language, please give the French Institute of the North Shore a call. 

French Institute of the North Shore

562 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL  60093

847-501-5800