Sandy Creek High’s Stephane Allagnon is the latest person to be listed as an Honored French Citizen by the French Consulate, Southeast region.
Allagnon, a French teacher and foreign language department chair at the school, as well as president of the American Association of Teachers of French, now joins a growing list of other honorees from the region that includes the states of Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Allagnon is from the Roanne in the Loire region of France. He spent his childhood traveling abroad with his parents and developed a love for languages at an early age. He is fluent in English, Italian, Spanish and Latin. He wanted to share his passion for languages with younger generations, so naturally he decided to become a teacher.
After teaching for a while in Ireland, he and his wife, who is from Georgia, decided to return to the States and settled in Peachtree City. He started teaching at Sandy Creek in 1999, first Spanish and then French. He now teaches five French classes a day.
Allagnon says his goal is to teach his students more than the French language, he wants to them to know about the country’s culture as well. He does this primarily through literature and cinema. He also organizes field trips to France with his high school every three years.
His work with his students has been recognized by the many honors and achievements they have obtained. The latest being Iffie Awachie, a senior at Sandy Creek, who has been selected as French Senior of the Year by the American Association of Teachers of French. She will receive a medal and special recognition at the school’s Honors Night.
