Our Team

 

Florence LAFORGE

Head of School & Founder

Mrs. Laforge has been teaching high school economics since 1991. She is certified by the French National Education. During her career, she had the opportunity to work as a Vice Principal... in a large high school in downtown Rouen, in the Seine-Maritime region. She enjoyed this position so much that she promised herself that one day she would become a school Principal. For the past 8 years, Mrs. Laforge taught Social and Economic Sciences at the Ecole Francaise Bilingue de Greenville where she also served as Vice-Principal. With the announcement of the permanent closure of the Ecole Francaise Bilingue de Greenville, she decided to open a French International School in order to better serve the community that welcomed her as well as the Francophone community of Greenville County. Mrs. Laforge is married and has 4 children. The family arrived in Greenville in December 2012 for professional reasons and has since made the choice to stay permanently.

 

Jennifer DAVIS TAYLOR

Art History

Jennifer Davis Taylor received her M.A. in Children's Literature from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia; her M.F.A. in Fine Art from the SMFA at Tufts University in Boston, MA; ... and her PhD in Art History from the Warburg Institute in London. While at the Warburg Institute, Ms. Taylor had the opportunity to complete two Erasmus+ exchanges to Paris where she studied at the École Pratique des Hautes Études. A native of Greenville, SC, Ms. Taylor has returned home after many years bringing not only academic experience but also classroom teaching experience for middle school, high school, and first-year university levels. She has taught grammar, composition, rhetoric, literature, and art history.

 

Aurélie SELLIER

Primary Director & K-3rd French Teacher

Aurélie was born in Lille, capital of the Hauts-de-France region and grew up in Amiens in the Somme department, Picardy. ... She joins the ISG team for the beginning of the school year in August 2022. French, she studied law in Amiens and after ten years of professional experience, she trained in Sophrology at the IFS in Paris. Aurélie's career is oriented towards well-being coaching, through the learning of concentration, emotional management and self-confidence. In 2020, Aurélie prepared the competitive examination for school teachers. She enjoys traveling with her four children, sports and cooking.

Jocelyn AVERITT

4th, 5th grade & middle school French Teacher

Jocelyn Averitt has been a teacher for 25 years. Born of British parents and raised in Paris, France, she is perfectly bilingual French/English. She holds a B.A. in philosophy from University of London, UK and a B.A., M.A. as well as a professional diploma in clinical psychology from the University of Paris 7. ... Having also obtained a diploma in translation from the British Institute of Paris, she worked as freelance translator for several years . Teaching was a revelation to Jocelyn when she “accidently” discovered it while substituting for an English teacher. She then changed careers and trained as a teacher in the French Education system . She has taught at kindergarten, primary and secondary levels. She came to Greenville, South Carolina in 2009 with her American husband and two daughters. Jocelyn taught French at the Montessori School of Greenville where she worked for nine years, using mainly theatre techniques. Since 2010 she was in charge at the Michelin French School (EFB) of the afterschool program (Ateliers) teaching French in tutoring -type groups to French or French-speaking children enrolled in American schools. From 2013 she also taught English at primary and secondary level at EFB. At ISG she is teaching the dual language K3-K4 class as well as some English classes at the secondary level. Jocelyn’s teaching philosophy is to consider each student as an individual and she loves helping the younger children bloom. She also likes to foster independent thinking. She enjoys teaching students how to better express their thoughts orally or in writing. Her favorite activities are reading , listening to music, and traveling as well as , of course , spending time with her family. She enjoys discovering different countries, and has traveled extensively in Europe, India, Cambodia, where she volunteered in a rural school, and Israel where she spent a summer working on a kibbutz.

Ana ARRIAGA

Spanish 3-12th & educative assistant

Ana Luisa Arriaga Pérez was born and raised in México and is a proud French citizen. She graduated valedictorian of the social sciences department of the UVM with a Masters degree in communication sciences. At 22 years old she moved to France to pursue her dreams. After two years of perfecting ... perfecting her French and obtaining a Bachelors degree in “Lettres Moderns” she spent two years and a half at the Université Nancy2 and graduated with a DSS in communication of enterprises and organizations. Ana’s first Job was as the head of the communications department at the Technical General Direction for L’Oréal In Paris. After more than ten years in France, life and family brought her back for two years to México city, where she worked as a freelance communications consultant for corporations. She subsequently moved to the United States were she has juggled family and work. Since moving here she has worked as Sales Manager for BCBG and MaxAzria and as a Bilingual teacher assistant for the Blythe Academy After-school. Her most recent work was as a translator (English, French, Spanish and Italian) for various agencies and Greenville Hospitals.Her experience knowing four different languages and living in three different countries has given her an increased sensibility to the beauty of cultural differences. She has two kids of which is very proud. Her son is heading to The University of South Carolina to study International business and her daughter is starting high school. Her general skills are, patience, problem solving, flexibility, communication, teamwork, creativity, attention to detail, and roject management. Her main focus is her family but she also enjoys photography, painting, swimming, skating, staying informed, movies and reading…. and she loves KIDS!

Claire NATIEZ

Dual Language K3/4 Teacher

Claire Natiez graduated Cum Laude from the College of Charleston with a degree in Arts Management and Dance with a Performance and Choreography concentration. From Greenville, SC, she is bilingual with French and English. Prior to her time at the College of Charleston ... she was in the Dance program at the Fine Arts Center, and taught dance classes to children ages 2-13 at Dianne’s School of Dance. While at the College of Charleston she was the administrative intern and company apprentice with Annex Dance Company, a modern dance nonprofit in the Charleston area. Her junior year, she worked as a Resident Assistant, helping provide academic support and campus resources to first year students. Claire also had the opportunity to serve as the series coordinator for Piccolo Spoleto’s student-run festival, Stelle di Domani, and served as Production Intern for Charleston Jazz. Claire has spent the past four years immersed in the arts nonprofit sector, and will be co-teaching the dual-language K3 K4 class.

Kerrie NATIEZ

1st, 2nd, 3rd grade English Teacher and Middle School Arts

Kerrie Natiez has been teaching for 24 years. She was born in Iowa where she attended Central College in Pella, Iowa. There she earned a B.A. in Elementary Education with a specialization in ... Early Childhood Education. She taught one year in Iowa before moving to Los Angeles, California where she taught kindergarten for three years at Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles. She met her husband while there and they moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 1999. Her first two years in South Carolina, she taught first grade at Pleasant Grove Christian Academy in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Since then, they have added three children to their family. She is currently teaching Kindergarten and 1st grade at EFB, where she has taught for the last 17 years (first teaching 1st-6th grade English, then CM1-CM2 English, and now her current role). At ISG she will be teaching Kindergarten- 3rd grade English.Kerrie’s teaching philosophy is that every child is unique and it is her job to help them find their strengths. Seeing the students thrive is her biggest joy as a teacher. Her favorite activities include watching movies with her family, decorating her home, attending concerts and musicals, and traveling.

Rachael BRANYON

English 4th to 12th grade - Social Studies Middle School

Rachael is from Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 1997. ... She has taught in both public and private schools in the United States and done literacy work with children in Kenya as a volunteer. Rachael earned a master’s degree in Intercultural Studies from Columbia International University in 2005. She is married to Danny and was expatriated with him to Clermont-Ferrand from 2005-2009. While living in France, Danny and Rachael chose to live outside of the city in a small town for Rachael to learn French by immersion. While living in Billom, Rachael experienced the challenges of language acquisition as an adult firsthand. She studied French at the Michelin language lab, practiced her new language skills at the market, church, and school, and completed a 100-hour intensive language course at Université Blaise Pascal. Rachael and Danny have 4 children. Their two oldest daughters attended École Francaise Bilingue and continue to study French and now Spanish at JL Mann High School. Rachael loves working with children and is passionate about literacy and language learning. She enjoys playing tennis, reading, and spending time with her family including the family dog, “Jacques”, and cats, “Minou” and “Minette”.

Pascal NATIEZ

History & Geography teacher Middle & High school

Born in Arras, Pascal Natiez grew up in Nantes and its region. He has completed an internal agrégation diploma in history and geography and a master's degree in modern history. ... He began teaching in 1986 in several schools in the Nantes academy. In 1993, he moved to the United States and worked at the Lycée Français de Los Angeles for five years. After a year in France, he married Kerrie Larsen and worked for the French Bilingual School of Greenville for 23 years as a History-Geography teacher from grade 6 to grade 12, also teaching economics, philosophy, geopolitics and music education. He is the father of three bilingual children.

Robin RUNGASSAMY

Maths, Physics and Biology High and Middle School

Robin Rungassamy graduated from the University of Paris VI de Jussieu, France. He obtained a master's degree in chemistry in Paris and then began a thesis at the University of Clermont Ferrand. ... He subsequently taught science as well as mathematics and French (FLE) at high school and college level in France as well as in different parts of the world (Los Angeles, Miami, Mauritius, Seychelles, Egypt and Morocco). For over 23 years, he has taught in the French, IB and Californian systems. Yoga teacher and Ayurvedic masseur. Robin Rungassamy is passionate about the Indian system of well-being. He also loves everything to do with the sea. He is practically a dive master. He enjoys playing chess and go. Robin is delighted to be back in the USA and to be joining the ISG team.

Delphine PAON

French & Philosophy Teacher

Delphine is a French teacher since 2009. She taught for a long time in secondary schools in the Paris region, from middle school to high school. She also obtained a PhD in ... general and comparative literature in 2019 with a thesis on Goethe and Proust. At the same time, she taught courses in literature and didactics at the University of Paris 13 and then Besançon, in Licence and Master's programs, notably for future French teachers. Today, as a self-employed teacher and certified coach, she teaches 11th grade students who are taking the French Baccalaureate, as well as students and future teachers, with whom she shares her experience as well as coaching tools to succeed in the exam and to be at ease in front of students. She also helps adults, especially entrepreneurs who want to write a book, to realize this beautiful project. And she shares many tips on her website and blog, www.avezvousluproust.com as well as her Instagram account of the same name. In her free time, Delphine enjoys reading, of course, theater, baking and dancing, as she has been swing dancing since 2004. She lives in Paris with her French-American spouse and is looking forward to teaching online classes at a French school in the US.

Paulina PEREZ

Physical education & Music Teacher

¡Hola! Paulina Perez is from Dominican Republic. She studies Communications with a minor in Business and French. She is obsessed with coffee and matte tea, you will always see her with one or the other. She has ... a deep love to traveling and learning about languages and culture. She is huge into sports because she has a competitive soul and she loves sharing the music and good reads, that she finds, with others.

Anne Culberson

High School German teacher

Anne Culberson has been a Lecturer in German and French at Furman University since 2005. She was raised and educated in Strasbourg, France, spending many vacations traveling throughout Europe. While ... an undergraduate at Georgetown University, Anne received a Rotary International Scholarship and spent a year at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München, Germany. She received her BS in German Studies, with a minor in Business. She completed her M.A. at Brown University. Anne worked seven years at Michelin as project manager/editor for travel publications including Green Guides to New York City and Chicago. For three years she guided the setup of Human Resource and Finance systems for the US startup of a German automotive plant. She served five years as Vice President of Administration for Greenville’s Chamber of Commerce. At Furman, Anne has taught French and German, ranging from Elementary to Composition & Conversation and Civilization courses. She is the current language and program coordinator for German. She serves as co-director of the semester-long Berlin Study Away Program and has led groups of students on May Experience courses to the Rhine area (France, Germany and Switzerland). She is a certified Oral Proficiency Interviewer for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a certified rater for ACTFL's AAPPL program. She enjoys advising and mentoring students, serving as Summer and Virtual Advisor, and has lead a cohort of students as a first- and second-year Pathways Advisor.