French schools of New York · Manhattan, Westchester, Brooklyn, New Jersey

French curriculum tutor for New York students, in English or French

Online tutoring for students at the French accredited schools of the New York area, from Grade 6 through Grade 12. Mathematics, physics-chemistry, computer science and biology, covering the French Baccalaureate specialties as well as AP Calculus and IB mathematics. I am based in Montreal, on your exact time zone, and my students sit the very same Baccalaureate papers as yours: the North America ones.

More than 10 years tutoring students in the French system, including at Lycée Marie de France and Collège Stanislas in Montreal. Both follow, word for word, the same national program as the Lycée Français de New York and FASNY.

Same time zone North America exam centre English or French AP Calculus and IB PayPal in USD ★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews

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Why a tutor in Montreal, for a student in New York

It is a fair question, and the answer rests on three verifiable facts. For a family in the French school system, Montreal and New York are not two distant cities: they share a time zone, an examination centre and a university landscape.

The same time zone, all year round

Montreal and New York are both on Eastern Time. Not one hour apart, zero. Better still, Canada and the United States change their clocks on the same dates, the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, so the offset never drifts the way it does with Europe. A tutor in Paris has to teach at 11 p.m. their time to reach a student who finishes school at 5 p.m. Here, 5 p.m. for you is 5 p.m. for me.

The same exam centre: North America

French Baccalaureate papers are not identical worldwide. They are written and released per examination centre, and schools in the United States sit the North America papers, exactly like schools in Canada. My Grade 12 students in Montreal and a Grade 12 student at the Lycée Français de New York take the same paper on the same day. Those are the past papers I have been working from for over 10 years, not the mainland France ones.

Both systems, not just the French one

Your child almost never prepares the Baccalaureate alone. They add AP modules, or an IB Diploma, an SAT, and applications to North American universities. I sat the French Baccalaureate with a mathematics specialty, then earned a B.Sc. at McGill University and an M.Sc. at Concordia University. I know what each side demands, and which parts reinforce each other instead of competing.

French levels and their US grade equivalents

If you are an American parent at a French school, this is usually the first thing that needs translating. The grade names never map onto anything you recognise from a US high school transcript.

French level	US grade	What matters that year
Sixième to Quatrième	Grade 6 to 8	Middle school foundations, algebra habits
Troisième	Grade 9	Brevet, the first national exam
Seconde	Grade 10	Choosing specialties for the next two years
Première	Grade 11	Specialties begin, French exam sat early
Terminale	Grade 12	Baccalaureate, Grand oral, AP exams, applications

New to how the French system works? Start with my guide for parents of French-school students, or read what the French Baccalaureate actually involves.

The French schools of the New York area

Eight schools in the metropolitan area belong to the French education network abroad. Some are accredited for the whole track through Grade 12 and the Baccalaureate, others only through middle school. That distinction matters when you look for support: a student at The École or the International School of Brooklyn leaves the French track around Grade 8, while a student at the Lycée Français de New York or FASNY carries it to the Baccalaureate.

Lycée Français de New York

505 East 75th Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan

Pre-K through Grade 12, fully accredited

The largest French school in the area, around 1,225 students. Full French Baccalaureate track alongside AP modules for US college applications.

French-American School of New York (FASNY)

320 East Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, Westchester

Pre-K through Grade 12, fully accredited

Campuses in Mamaroneck and Larchmont, around 570 students. The only school in the area accredited for both the French Baccalaureate and the IB Diploma.

Kennedy International School

225 East 43rd Street and 815 Second Avenue, Midtown Manhattan

Preschool through Grade 12

Formerly Lyceum Kennedy. Part of the French education network, with a bilingual IB Diploma in the final two years.

The École

Flatiron District, Manhattan

Nursery through Grade 8, ages 2 to 14

Formerly École Internationale de New York. Accredited from Maternelle through Middle School, so students leave the French track around the Brevet exam.

International School of Brooklyn

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Pre-K through Grade 8, ages 3 to 14

French and Spanish immersion tracks with an IB program. The preschool and lower school are accredited by the French Ministry of Education.

United Nations International School

Midtown East, Manhattan

French section, full track

An IB school with a French section, part of the French education network.

French American Academy

Jersey City, New Jersey

Preschool, elementary and middle school

The main option on the New Jersey side of the Hudson.

French-American School of Princeton

Princeton, New Jersey

Preschool, elementary and middle school

Serves families further south, including many academic and research households.

Accredited levels are those published by the Agency for French Education Abroad. They can change from year to year, so it is always worth confirming with the school directly.

French program, AP and IB: one body of content, three formats

This is the situation of a typical Grade 11 or Grade 12 student in a New York French school. They prepare the Specialty Mathematics paper of the Baccalaureate, take AP Calculus for their US applications, and sit an SAT in the spring. Three deadlines, three formats, and often three different tutors.

Mathematically, however, it is the same material. Limits, differentiation, antiderivatives, integration and sequences appear in all of them. What actually differs comes down to four points, and only those deserve separate practice.

What counts as an answer

A French examiner marks the proof: hypotheses stated, theorem named, conclusion written out. A correct result with no justification earns almost nothing. AP and SAT mark the result. A student has to know which regime they are in, and they rarely do without being told.

Vocabulary in two languages

Primitive and antiderivative, théorème des valeurs intermédiaires and intermediate value theorem, suite and sequence. A student perfectly comfortable with the concept can lose a minute per question translating in their head. We build that bridge explicitly.

Two relationships with time

A French specialty paper runs four hours and rewards depth. The SAT rewards speed and pattern recognition. These are opposite cognitive modes, both trainable, but not at the same time.

A compressed calendar

AP exams fall in May, and the North America Baccalaureate specialty papers are among the earliest in the French network. The two collide, which means finishing the syllabus considerably earlier than a student in France would.

How lessons run

A shared whiteboard, not a lecture

On Teams and OneNote, the student and I write on the same page at the same time, exactly as on paper. These are the tools most French schools already use, so there is nothing new to learn.

The student works, I correct

A session where the tutor solves and the student watches achieves nothing in mathematics. The student attempts, goes wrong, and we pick the reasoning back up at the exact point it drifted.

Everything stays available afterwards

Every proof, annotated correction and diagram lives in the shared notebook. The student reopens it before a test, and parents can see exactly what was covered.

Questions between sessions, included

A photo of a stuck problem the night before a test, a question about a confusing prompt: the student messages me and I answer. On the same time zone, the reply comes within the hour rather than the next morning.

Timed papers under real conditions

North America past papers, timed, submitted as photos and marked against the official scheme. It is the only reliable way to know where a student stands before the exam.

Your tutor

My name is Ahmed Squalli Houssaini. I went through the French system myself up to the Baccalaureate with a mathematics specialty, then studied at McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal. For more than 10 years I have tutored students in the French program, in person in Montreal and online elsewhere in North America.

✓ French Baccalaureate, mathematics specialty

✓ B.Sc. in Computer Science, Finance and Mathematics, McGill University

✓ M.Sc. in Applied Computer Science, Concordia University

✓ 10+ years on the French program, from middle school to the Baccalaureate

✓ One tutor for math, physics-chemistry, biology and computer science

✓ Sessions in English or French, whichever helps the student most

Frequently asked questions

Which New York schools do you tutor for?

All the French accredited schools of the metropolitan area: the Lycée Français de New York on the Upper East Side, the French-American School of New York (FASNY) in Mamaroneck and Larchmont, Kennedy International School in Midtown Manhattan, The École in the Flatiron District, the International School of Brooklyn, the United Nations International School, the French American Academy in New Jersey and the French-American School of Princeton. I also work with children in American schools who follow the French program independently.

Can lessons be taught in English?

Yes. Many families at the French schools of New York are American or bilingual, and the student often reasons faster in English while having to write the exam in French. I explain in whichever language unlocks the idea, then rehearse the French vocabulary the examiners expect. Nothing is lost in translation, and no marks are lost to a language gap on a concept the student actually understands.

You are in Montreal. Is the time difference a problem?

There is none. Montreal and New York are both on Eastern Time, and Canada and the United States switch to daylight saving on the same dates, so the offset stays at zero all year. A 5 p.m. session in New York is a 5 p.m. session for me. A tutor based in France would have to teach at 11 p.m. their time to reach your child right after school.

Do you know the French Baccalaureate exams your students will actually sit?

Yes, and this is the point most families miss. French Baccalaureate papers are written and released per examination centre, and schools in the United States and Canada both belong to the North America centre. My students in Montreal and students in New York sit the same paper on the same day. I have been working from those past papers for over 10 years, not from the mainland France ones you find online.

Do you cover AP and IB as well as the French program?

Yes, on the science side. I cover AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Physics, IB mathematics at standard and higher level in both Analysis and Approaches and Applications and Interpretation, and the math section of the SAT, alongside the French Specialty Mathematics and Specialty Physics-Chemistry courses. I hold a French Baccalaureate in mathematics, a B.Sc. from McGill University and an M.Sc. from Concordia University, so both systems are familiar ground.

How do payments work from the United States?

Through PayPal in US dollars, with no international wire transfer needed. Families with a Canadian bank account can also pay by Interac. Receipts on request, payment after the session or in blocks, nothing charged automatically.

Can we start with a trial session?

Yes. A first session establishes where the student actually stands and whether the fit is right, before any commitment. Just tell me the school, the grade and the specialties chosen.