Sarasota's Alliance Française is expanding into children's education this fall, partnering with a homeschool enrichment cooperative to bring French instruction to kids as young as pre-K.

The Alliance Française de Sarasota, led by President Helen Hreen, is working with Pathways of Play, a drop-off homeschool enrichment community at 2970 University Parkway serving pre-K through fifth grade, to develop a French program for the same age range. The organizations plan to launch in fall 2026; enrollment details and a start date have not been announced. The alliance is finalizing the program with Pathways of Play's founder.

Pathways of Play is a Step Up For Students direct provider, meaning enrolled families may qualify for scholarship funding.

"Sarasota is one of the smallest, but we're working on making it one of the best in the country," Hreen told Your Observer.

The alliance is one of more than 830 chapters in 133 countries. It operates from 715 N. Washington Blvd. and offers adult courses ranging from core French classes to specialty offerings like "French for Travelers" and private tutoring. Hreen said the organization fields many calls from parents looking for French education for their children, but options in Sarasota have been limited.

The announcement came after the alliance's annual Bastille Day fundraiser on July 12 at Sahib Shriners, a key revenue source for the nonprofit.

A visitor from Sarasota's oldest sister city

Among the guests at the July 12 celebration was Louis Gallois, 19, a student from Perpignan, France. Perpignan became Sarasota's first sister city in 1994, and in March 2025, Mayor Liz Alpert and Perpignan Mayor Louis Aliot re-signed the agreement to mark its 30th anniversary.

Gallois came to the U.S. to study English as part of his training to become an airline pilot, which requires bilingual proficiency. He helped lead the room in singing "La Marseillaise" at the Bastille Day event, and staff from the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota have been keeping him busy with trips to local attractions.

"I have to attain the, like, bilingual level, so this is a huge challenge for me," Gallois told Your Observer.

How to get involved

The Alliance Française de Sarasota can be reached at 941-955-0700 or online at afsarasota.org. The alliance said it will announce enrollment details for the children's program later this summer.