OUR FRENCH TEACHERS IN THE BAY AREA
With the objective to provide the best French learning experience, EFBA strives to recruit the finest French teachers of the San Francisco Bay Area. To reach this goal, we have put in place a very stringent recruitment process. The result is a fantastic team of credentialed & experienced individuals who are aware of the issues linked to bilingualism. All year long, our teachers attend EFBA training that is dedicated to their professional development and our service quality control.
All of our teachers and assistants are Francophone and come from different places around the world. They either know the French Education Ministry’s curriculum or are trained in teaching French as a Foreign Language. They bring a unique teaching experience and a different culture. All are dedicated to EFBA’s mission, values and innovative teaching methods. They know how to structure a class for differentiated levels to ensure that each student gets personal attention.
Meet EFBA’s teachers and assistants below!
TORAL MEHTA
Toral holds a Master’s degree in French from Stanford University. She grew up in Djibouti and completed her Bachelors degree in France. She spent four years as a project manager for a non-profit organization that organized mentoring programs. During that time, she implemented their email mentoring program, which matched 150 to 200 students with over 150 volunteer mentors via email. Toral has lived in California since 1988, and has been with EFBA for seven years now. She loves to travel and hopes to make a difference in the lives of her students.
TUNDE VACSI
Tunde was born and grew up in Hungary. She got her Bachelor’s in French teaching there, and spent eight years working as a trade advisor at the French Trade Commission of the French Embassy in Hungary. She has lived in Bordeaux, London, Seattle and now in Mountain View. After moving to the Bay Area in 2014, she decided she wanted to return to working in education and served as an office and teacher assistant in a Montessori Preschool. Tunde joined EFBA in 2015, and is very excited to show the children how much fun it can be to learn French! She likes to travel, hike, cook, watch movies and, of course, teach French.
ANNE MORAG
Anne is a native of the South of France, but well traveled and very curious about other civilizations, cultures and languages. She holds an M.A. in international relations from the Sorbonne. She also studied American and English literature and culture. She has been teaching English and French as a second language in several countries, in schools, at EFBA and privately for many years. Anne particularly enjoys teaching her own native tongue to children. She marvels at their eagerness to learn and candid questioning, and works to adapt to their interests, rhythms, and learning styles. Having been at EFBA for a few years, Anne is now a senior teacher.
SIMONE BLOCH
Simone Bloch is an experienced French teacher with dual citizenship, who has been teaching French and German to people of all ages in France and the United States. She holds a CAPES in German, and also passed the PLP2 after teaching French in a vocational high school in France. She has worked with babies and young children, as well as adults. She’s been teaching with EFBA for almost 10 years, and has been part of the organization’s many programs. She also loves working in summer camps, and in summer 2019, she had the joy to lead one. Her interests are not limited to languages; she holds various certifications in somatic movement, and performs regularly as an actress. She is happy to be working with EFBA for another year, as she loves contributing to the growth of young children, and is now a grandmother.
ELODIE LAPLACE-GRANGIER
Elodie is passionate about helping young children learn the French culture and language. She started her journey into teaching by volunteering as a french activity leader in a Montessori preschool, and then continued on as an assistant teacher. After many years of assistant teaching for a wide variety of age groups, she found she had a particular fondness for working with the youngest students. She has recently moved from being an assistant to teaching her own class, and watching her students’ progress as they grow into confident, culturally-aware French speakers brings her great joy.
Jonathan Renard
Jonathan was born and raised in Bordeaux, in the southwest of France. He holds several university degrees including a professional certificate of education (CPPE). He has been teaching for over 20 years and his passion for teaching and pedagogy is still intact. Driven by his taste for discovery and sharing, he has traveled extensively. He lived many years in French Guyana and currently lives in the Dominican Republic with his wife and young son. For several years, he has been teaching French with passion to students of all nationalities and all over the world. He loves to share the richness of his language and culture and to see his students enjoy speaking French.
Nada Kaissi
Nada was born and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. She has a bachelor degree in “éducation préscolaire et primaire” from Université Saint Joseph in Beirut. She taught in French Lycées in Lebanon and Dubai. She has been teaching French as a second language for several years in private tutoring as well as school settings and afternoon programs.
YASMINE MARTINET
Laura Encaoua
After her Master’s degree in French as a Foreign Language in 2018, Laura has been teaching mainly to children who speak French at home but do not have the opportunity to learn it at school.
Her goal is to offer a chance to every student to learn French in a positive, creative and fun atmosphere and give them the motivation and confidence for their future.
RACHEL NDJE
Virginie Bossu
Born and raised in France, I moved to California in 2010 after a life-changing road trip in 2008.
I hold a professional teaching certificate (CRPE) and have a decade of experience in education, including elementary school teaching and tutoring in France.
I love learning and sharing knowledge, and my teaching style is all about making the learning process fun and memorable.
I am a creative person. In addition to my teaching, I also run my own freelance design company and I have a deep passion for both music and dancing.
Outside of the classroom, I am a mother of two daughters. My family and I share a dream of exploring all 50 states of America together.
Cecile Amram
Since 2013, Cecile has called the Bay Area home, bringing with them a wealth of experience from a distinguished career in sales and management across France and California. What began as an accidental entry into the education sector soon blossomed into a genuine passion, leading Cecile to become deeply involved in the Menlo Park school community through dedicated volunteer work with the Sequoia School District. I’m thrilled to embark on this new journey as a French teacher in Menlo Park and eager to share my passion for the French language and culture with our students.
Outside of work, Cecile founded “Les Souliers”, a hiking group aimed at exploring California’s beautiful landscapes. She also has a strong interest in neuroscience. Cecile’s diverse interests and community involvement reflect their vibrant and engaged approach to life
Léanne Parkey
Born in England and raised in France and California, I was lucky to experience the breadth and depth of two different languages and cultures.
I hold a degree in English and Teaching French as a Foreign Language (FLE) from the Sorbonne, as well as a teaching credential in French from the CCTC. I have been a private French teacher for over two decades and a classroom teacher for middle school for one. I was also an EFBA parent before joining the team as a teacher. My passion is sharing the joy of learning about French in all of its forms!
Apart from teaching, I enjoy reading, writing, playing video games, collecting teddy bears, and spending time with my three amazing children.
Dawn Kleint
Dawn is originally from San Diego, California. She earned her Bachelor of French Language and Literature from the University of Maryland and her Master of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) with a concentration in French Translation/Interpretation. She has lived and worked in France and Switzerland. She has taught French to students ranging in age from 5 to 18, in a French immersion school as well as at the middle and high school levels. She also taught English as a Second Language to adults in the U.S. and English conversation classes to university students in Nice, France. It’s her second year at EFBA and her class has become like a little family to her. She likes to travel, read novels, learn foreign languages, play soccer and dance salsa.
Maud Sendra
Hello! My name is Maud Sendra, and I am very excited to be part of EFBA this year. I am a French native teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching French as a Foreign Language to students of all ages, from children to teenagers and adults.
I have taught in international contexts across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, preparing students for IB, GCSE, DELF and DALF exams, as well as supporting bilingual children in their academic and cultural journey.
What I love most about teaching is creating an engaging and immersive environment where students feel safe, curious, and motivated to learn French.
Outside of teaching, I enjoy cooking, reading, writing, sport and spending time with my family in Rio de Janeiro.
I look forward to meeting my students and families this year!
Sokhna Fall
Sokhna Assiétou Fall is a multilingual educator and scholar from Dakar, Senegal, with a PhD in African & Postcolonial Studies and a Master’s in Education. She has taught French, African literature, and bilingual education in both Senegal and the United States, ranging from elementary classrooms to university courses. Her research and teaching focus on themes of identity, exile, belonging, and the role of women in literature and film. Passionate about inclusive and culturally responsive education, she integrates cross-cultural perspectives into her teaching to empower students and foster global awareness.
Marie Payrastre
Originally from the south of France, Marie studied law and worked in Paris before changing paths to become a French teacher. Now living in the United States, she enjoys helping children connect with the language and culture, celebrating each step of their progress. Always close to kids, she loves creating a positive, engaging, and fun learning environment. Her goal is to help students build confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning French.
Marcie Petit
Marcie is originally from the northwest of France and spent the past six years living in England before recently relocating to San Francisco. She is a visual artist, educator, and librarian, and has been working with children and teens for many years. As a passionate and energetic teacher, she always strives to use interactive methods to make classes engaging and enjoyable. When working with children, her goal is for them to learn while also having fun.
France-Laude Gohard
France-laude was born in Paris but raised in many cities in France from Normandy to Provence. She traveled first to Taos, New Mexico and moved to NYC in 1986 for two years. There she met her mentor who was teaching Spanish as a foreign language to young children at Bank Street School. Innovative at the time, she took her course at the Teacher’s college at Columbia university to later move to Marin County, California where she resides. France-laude has been teaching French as a second language in Primary Schools. She shared with enthusiasm through movement, songs and play. Her late experience in a School with a strong Mindfulness program for Gifted children was pivotal and led her to work with families that are bilingual and/or polyglotte. She is now working privately and starting her first year with Efba..!!