Last month, Denis Barbet, Consul General of France in Atlanta, presided over a ceremony during which Marc Mallet, an Officer in the Order of the Palmes Académiques bestowed the insignia of Knight of the Academic Palms upon Stéphane Allagnon at the French Residency in Buckhead.
Created by Napoleon in 1808, the Palmes Académiques is an honorific distinction awarded to members in the educational field who, by their actions, have contributed to better education. Abroad, it recognizes those who have participated actively in the promotion of the French culture and language.
As a French teacher for 15 years in the United-States, Allagnon is a passionate educator who knows how to communicate his enthusiasm to his students and enrich their learning experience. Allagnon has been teaching for over 15 years in Georgia and is presently a French teacher at Woodward Academy.
Aware of the challenges of the profession, Allagnon has always actively encouraged French teachers in every possible way. In order to pursue this mission more effectively he became president of AATF (The American Association of Teachers of French) in 2009 and has been reelected every two years since then.
Allagnon is also a member of countless associations, including the Foreign Language Association of Georgia and regularly holds workshops and presentations for language teachers.
Since his arrival in the United-States in 1998, Allagnon has grown to take an active part in the promotion of French Language and French culture not only through school activities but also in his community both in the Atlanta area and in Fayette County. In 2013, he was nominated as state French Teacher of the Year and he has been a key participant in the MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding) between the Georgia Department of Education and the Académie of Nancy Metz in eastern France. Thanks to this partnership, he has developed an exchange program between Woodward Academy and his hometown school in France (Lycée St Paul, in Roanne).
Because of his duty as AATF president, Allagnon is also an executive member of the Francophonie committee, a large organization in Atlanta made of the different Francophone consular entities and business and educational partners.
He is a privileged partner of the embassy and the consulate through his continued support for all matters related to education.
Stéphane Allagnon resides in Peachtree City with his wife and two sons who attended the ceremony along with other family members and friends.
