EDUCATORS AND SUPPORT STAFF
Sandrine Pouzache, Kindergarten
Mme. Pouzache was born near Paris and moved to Grenoble when she was a teenager. After getting her bachelor's degree in Modern Literature, she earned her teacher's certification in 2000. She has been teaching children between the ages of 3 and 7 for 21 years. Now that her three children are grown, she has come to discover Louisiana.
1st Grade
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Emilie Bonnot, Kindergarten
Mme Emilie is from Aube, to the east of Paris. All her life she wanted to be a teacher, so she followed a very direct path of study after high school. After earning a degree in History she got her teaching certificate in 2017, then worked in different schools teaching everything from Pre-K 3 to 4th Grade. She then spent four years working as the Principal of a tiny rural school with only one class, in which 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades are all together.
M. Benjamin is from Belgium, born in the town of Spy, which History buffs may recall as the place where the Neanderthal skeleton, "The Spy Man," was found in 1886. Not only is M. Benjamin certified and experienced in teaching both Kindergarten and primary, but he also teaches tennis and padel tennis, both of which he enjoys playing any chance he gets. He also loves traveling, meeting people from different cultures, and learning foreign languages. He hopes to become bilingual in English very quickly while working in America, where he'll be making new friends while living so far from his two grown daughters and his girlfriend who won't be able to join him this first year.
Sylvie Collodel, 1st Grade
Originally from Agen in the south of France, Mme Collodel comes to École Saint-Landry with 15 years of experience in education at the elementary, middle, high school, and university levels. She received a Master’s in French as a Foreign Language from UPPA French University and has taught in various countries since 2009.
Yaëlle Pecher, 1st Grade
Mme Yaëlle comes to us from Caen, in Normandy, France. She has a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in Primary Education. Since getting her teaching certificate in 2017, she has taught different elementary grades, mainly in rural areas, which she loves. She enjoys cooking, she's a genealogy enthusiast, and she loves traveling and learning more about foreign languages and cultures.
Mélanie Dupuy, 1st Grade
Mme Mélanie grew up in a beautiful, pastoral suburb of Paris with her mother and two sisters, surrounded by animals, especially horses. She studied equestrian medicine as well as Applied Foreign Languages, but performing in horse shows in different European countries brought her the opportunity to teach students, and she eventually found the calling to teach stronger than anything else. She purchased her horse while simultaneously completing her studies to be a school teacher, which she practiced in Belgium, Spain, and South Africa. She and her husband, Olivier, are excited about this new experience in Louisiana and look forward to absorbing as much of our culture as possible.
Adil Baskar, 2nd Grade
M. Adil is from Choisy-le-roi in France. He has been working with children for 23 years already, and teaching for five now. He has a Master's in Primary Education and has taught mostly in very socially diverse areas, which he loves. He enjoys creating theatre projects with his students, playing sports, and photography.
Édith Soubeyran, 2nd Grade
Mme Édith is from Toulouse, but she was born in Germany, her mother's homeland. She also got to spend her first fifteen years in Sub-Saharan and North Africa, then undertook her studies in both Germany and France before becoming a school teacher 24 years ago. Mme Édith is enthousiastic about promoting the beautiful French language to young Americans, and looking forward to discovering the rich culture of Louisiana. She loves to travel because she is passionate about meeting new people, seeing new horizons, and learning about different cultures. Her daughter, Julie, who is 16, and their dog, Billy, will be accompanying her in this adventure.
Louise Dalbudak, 2nd Grade
Mme Louise is from Bordeaux, France. She earned her Master's at the Academy of Bordeaux, then taught in Paris for four years and in Soulac for one year. She then moved to Louisiana and has been teaching the last two years in New Iberia.
Mme Louise lives in Breaux Bridge, and she loves travelling around the world discovering new cultures.
Lainey Pickett, 3rd Grade
Mme Lainey was born and raised in Arnaudville, LA. She has spent the past ten years living away from home, but she couldn't be happier to be back and teaching at a French immersion school in the area where she grew up. Mme Lainey has worked in education for five years and has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In August 2022, she graduated with her master's in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in reading and literacy from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Mme Lainey is passionate about preserving everything that makes our Louisiana culture special, especially our languages! She also enjoys cooking, traveling, camping, kayaking, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family, friends, and husband.
Kirby Jambon, 3rd Grade
M. Kirby is from Lafourche Parish in Southeast Louisiana and was raised by Cajun parents who were very proud of our French Louisiana culture. He has been a teacher for 37 years and has taught Elementary French Immersion classes for 28 years, as well as adult Louisiana French classes for over 20 years. He also loves the performing arts and teaches classes in youth theatre and directs plays in both French and English with Theatre Acadie
and Wonderland Academy. He has performed as an actor in both languages, and is currently the voice of Boudini in the Louisiana French animated series, Boudini et ses amis. He is also a poet and an award-winning author of three books of Louisiana French poetry.
M. Kirby loves working with young people and making people laugh, watching and reading Science Fiction and mysteries, food, festivals, and fun. He lives in Lafayette with his loving wife, Jen, and their sweet little Maltipoo, Winnie.
Naïma Chahid, 4th Grade
Mme Naïma (or Nayma) comes to us from Mantes la Ville, France. She originally began her studies in insurance, and became a specialist in that field, but the calling to teach was too strong and she eventually returned to school to follow her true vocation. Working with children, watching them grow and evolve daily, is her great source of motivation and happiness. She is very proud to have been accepted into the CODOFIL family and to be at École Saint-Landry, and with her husband and their three amazing children, ages 14, 16, and 19, loves to travel. They are all excited about this new adventure in Louisiana. Mme Naïma loves to dance, and enjoys riding bicycles and reading, especially mysteries and autobiographies.
Regina Menard, Kindergarten ELA Teacher
Mrs. “Gina” was born and raised in the suburbs of New Orleans, making her way to Acadiana in 2010 to finish her degree in Elementary Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a native of southeast Louisiana, she grew up learning about the rich French culture and language and continues to expand upon her knowledge as a resident of Acadiana. She started her journey in the teaching profession eleven years ago with most of her experience in teaching kindergarten. Her hobbies include reading, traveling, watching movies, and taking dance-aerobics/fitness classes. Mrs. Gina and her husband, Peter, reside in Lafayette with their little pup, Penny.
Wendy Thibodeaux, 1st Grade ELA Teacher
Mrs. Wendy–variable like the wind. Loves family and travel. Beaches and mountains are her thing. Enjoys quiet mornings with her coffee and tranquil evenings with her teacher's manual. A teacher at heart ❤. If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.
Shelly David, 2nd Grade ELA Teacher
Mrs. Shelly's journey in education began 11 years ago as a paraprofessional. After a couple of years she realized she'd found her passion, so he enrolled in school to further her education. Upon completion, she taught Special Education, and now she will be teaching 2nd and 3rd Grade ELA at École! She lives in Opelousas with her husband, Anthony, their four children, and their son-in-law. They love camping, cooking, and spending time together.
Chelsea Perrin, 3rd & 4th ELA Teacher
Mme Chelsea Perrin is from the small French-speaking bayou town called Montegut, Louisiana. Although a native English speaker, she grew up listening to her relatives speaking French. She wanted to join in on the conversation and continue the French legacy and culture of her community, so she studied French traditionally as well as through immersion in multiple countries over the years. After teaching English abroad, she found a love for all languages and decided to focus her craft on teaching English. With a Master's in English Education, Mme Perrin is excited for the opportunity to teach her craft and native language in a fully immersed French school, where she can continue stewarding our Louisianan-French heritage/ legacy.
Elizabeth Robinson, Teaching/Office Assistant
Mme Elizabeth was born and raised in the small town of Cookeville, TN. After working for years in a handful of jobs, she decided to try an entirely different career path and became a Title I teaching assistant at a local middle school. Mme Elizabeth has had many jobs in her 35 years, but being a teacher assistant makes her heart the happiest. She ended up in South Louisiana because she met the most wonderful human on the planet, he asked her to marry him and said yes! So she packed up her house, said goodbye to the life she’d known in Cookeville, and started a new adventure in Acadiana. Working in a school like École is an incredible opportunity for a small-town Tennessee girl, and she couldn’t be happier to be a part of this family!
Luz Cazarez, Lion Care Teacher
Mrs. Luz is originally from Michoacán, Mexico, and moved to Sunset when she was 7. She began working with children at Grand Coteau Head Start in 2020 and joined the École team in early 2023 as our Lion Care Coordinator, where she's been loving on each and every one of our kiddos ever since!
Brian Clary, PE Teacher
Brian Clary is a native of Virginia who by way of Montréal, Québec, has lived in Arnaudville, Louisiana since June 2018. Brian speaks, reads, writes, and teaches P.E. in French at École, which may make him Louisiana's only P.E. teacher en français. Brian is also an accomplished athlete, national champion (1999-2003), and member of #teamUSA in roller figure skating, a sport he trained at the highest levels and US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado (2001-2004), which he now coaches in Lafayette in all his languages: French, English, Spanish, German, and Italian. Prior to Brian joining École in September 2023, he worked in tech, specializing in internationalization and public diplomacy for governments, entities, and companies all over the world—talents being put to use in our upcoming school year!
Lyle Alford, Learning Center Coordinator
M. Lyle is from Natchitoches, Louisiana with family origins in Sabine Parish going back 7 generations. M.Lyle has a B.A. in Mathematics with a minor in French from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. In 2020 M. Lyle received the Escadrille louisiane Scholarship from CODOFIL; thus, obtaining his Masters in Teaching from Centenary College of Louisiana. He is a poet, teacher and above all a human. M. Lyle is very passionate about Francophone Louisiana and has been working in the Francolouisiana community since 2020.