What is FLAIM?
Baton Rouge Foreign Language Academic Immersion Magnet (FLAIM) is a PreK3 through 5th grade international, national, and state award elementary school. As a magnet school within the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, FLAIM is tuition free.
FLAIM is an academic school with the theme of immersion. As Baton Rouge’s only dedicated public immersion school, our unique program combines academic excellence with foreign language immersion in French, Mandarin, or Spanish.
FLAIM is a foreign language immersion school. Foreign language immersion is a teaching method where the teacher speaks in the foreign language (immersion language) to teach students the academic material and a second language at the same time. FLAIM students are taught math, science, and social studies in their immersion language by French, Spanish, or Mandarin speaking teachers. This successful approach of learning the language in an authentic, meaningful way mimics the way a child learns their native language.
Students also receive daily English Language Arts instruction by a native English-speaking teacher.
At FLAIM, emphasize is placed on high standards for all students. Through rigorous instruction, students are challenged to perform at their highest level. FLAIM teachers use body language, gestures, exaggerated voice, realia, authentic cultural materials, repetition, music, art, hands-on activities, modeling, and role playing to teach the content subjects as well as the mechanics and syntax of the immersion language itself.
FLAIM students spend 60-70% of their school day in their immersion language.
In the 2023-2024 school year, FLAIM will have PreK3 and PreK4 classes. While not officially part of our magnet program, they will be incorporating foreign language instruction. The PreK3 classes will be exploratory in nature and not immersion. PreK3 students will be introduced to the languages. The PreK4 classes will be immersion. FLAIM will have one PreK4 class for each language - one French, one Mandarin, and one Spanish immersion class.