Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachèle DeMeo. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Rachele DeMeo was born in Nîmes (Languedoc-Roussillon), Southern France, where she spent the first nineteen years of her life. Raised by an American-Italian father and a British mother, Rachele grew up in a bilingual, multicultural environment. From a young age, she knew she wanted to teach.
Passionate about languages and other cultures, she knew her career would involve both other languages and other cultures. She graduated with a French Baccalaureate, majoring in languages (French, English, Italian), Philosophy, & Literature. After a year of studying in a private College (while working different jobs) in Southern France, she moved to Maryland to complete a B.A. in Christian Education, intern for Congressman Chris H. Smith, and teach. She taught at a variety of institutions, including Berlitz Language Centers, Sylvan Learning Centers, and Northrop Grumman hired her to teach their engineers French and translate as well as do some administrative work.
After graduating with her undergraduate degree, she moved to California for a teaching position (teaching French to middle schoolers and high schoolers) and furthered her education by graduating with an M.A. Additionally, she pursued a (second) Master’s in Education specializing in Teaching and Learning. Rachele is also AFAA-certified as a group fitness instructor.
Over the last 20+ years, she’s had experience teaching K-2, 6-12, and College (MiraCosta College, Palomar College, and Calvary Chapel Bible College). She specializes in teaching predominantly French (all levels) but has also taught Italian (beginner’s) and English (as a Second Language). She founded Belle Terre Academy in 2019, offering online language courses.
She is the founder and director/president for FLAM San Diego, which provides French classes for French-speaking and non-French speaking children in the San Diego region and different parts of the U.S. She additionally is an educational presenter where she trains instructors and speaks at a variety of workshops and conferences she’s regularly invited to (for speaking inquiries, please inquire).
She also does weekly YouTube videos and has written books (6 have been published so far). She, served on the executive board of the American Association of Teachers of French (San Diego Chapter), as president. She genuinely enjoys helping others–from students and professors to other members of the community.
Aside from her passion for languages and cultures, Rachele enjoys doing humanitarian work, from helping out Haitian refugees in Tijuana a few years ago to other trips (including visiting orphanages in India) in a variety of countries. Rachele sponsors Orphans First, a non-profit organization that helps children suffering worldwide.
Rachele enjoys cooking, extreme sports (surfing, snowboarding, longboard skateboarding), singing, and playing the piano. She has composed her own songs. Rachele absolutely loves traveling. Rachele is married, has two children (she’s raising bilingual), and has many pets.
I have been in education for about twenty years. I taught French at the middle and high school levels and then at the university for fifteen years. Later, I was asked to open a French school for children because I was raising my children bilingually, and they had a great level of French (I homeschooled them in French for several years).
Knowing that there are twenty thousand French people in San Diego, the need was there, and many families didn’t know how to approach it. So, in 2019, I left my teaching positions at the universities to start FLAM San Diego—an accredited French school recognized by the French National Education, AEFE, etc.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
We opened the doors of our French school, FLAM San Diego, in 2020, initially offering only virtual classes.
I had to train our teachers in online learning and teaching (aside from my Masters, I have a degree focusing on virtual learning and teaching), and we had to adapt certain methods… Virtual classes worked so well that we still offer many of them, although we also offer in-person classes in several cities in San Diego and the surrounding areas.
Another challenge was that during the first few years, I did not receive a salary. I set up the school as a volunteer with a small administrative team (we were three). I paid my teachers, of course, but not the administrative team. Leaving two university jobs to volunteer and spend thirty hours a week was a sacrifice for my family.
But I had a heart, not a “business” mindset. There was (and still is) a real need for French learning for expatriate children, but not only that, but I also wanted to help families who wanted their children to have an excellent level of French—both orally and in writing.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For me, “success” is the feedback from parents and students. When they thank us because children can communicate in French with their grandparents for the first time, have successfully returned to France and easily integrated into a school there, have passed an exam and easily succeeded thanks to our courses, have not only entered university but skipped courses thanks to FLAM classes, I am grateful.
For me, success is seeing that the goal for our students to have an excellent level of French and use it in their personal as well as professional lives is achieved. And it makes me proud of both the parents and the students who have a bright future ahead of them.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
How do you balance your professional life with your personal commitments, and what advice would you give for managing both? I struggled a lot to balance my professional and personal life. In fact, I still find it a bit difficult. I am very hardworking by nature.
And I am also very involved as a mother. I spend a lot of time with my children and try to be as available as possible for them when they are not in school, among other things. So, sometimes I have meetings or work to do late at night, early in the morning, when they are asleep to be there for them. But I have started to set some limits so as not to “overwork” and to take a little time for myself.
Pricing:
- Online French classes for kids: $1500/year
- In-person French classes for kids: $1700/year
- Extra-curricular activities: $15 for members, $20 for non-members
- Online French classes for adults: $750/year
- Private lessons: $60/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://flamsandiego.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flamsandiego/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FLAMSanDiego
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheledemeo/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPphdKi30kYeHMTLhN3GRg
- Other: https://sites.google.com/view/racheledemeo
