With the sudden departure of the IB French teacher earlier this school year, students taking the course have been eager to get back on track after months of having little guidance regarding the subject. Fortunately, the hiring of a new IB French and Spanish teacher, Renae Cheshire, has mitigated school-wide concerns.
“We were very lucky to find somebody that was certified and able to do both French and Spanish. It’s very, very hard to find people who are certified in both, you know, and we really needed somebody French,” Principal Dave Brown said.
Cheshire applied for the position as soon as she stumbled upon it. Now that her application has been accepted, she’s determined to be a good teacher.
“The IB French positions in particular are very few and far between; the availability here seemed too good to be true, so I applied,” Cheshire said. “My experience of not remembering Italian from high school inspired me to be a good French and Spanish teacher so that kids actually remember it after high school.”
Cheshire takes great interest in teaching the language to students as she, herself, feels a deep inclination towards the French language.
“I’ve always been interested in languages–I kind of got into French by accident. I was a student at the University of South Florida and I wanted to transfer to the University of Florida,” Chesire said. I needed to take care of my language credits, so I took an intensive French course over the summer, and I just loved it! When I went to UF, I continued taking French and before you knew it, I had a minor in it. I could either graduate with my English degree or go abroad to study and take five more classes when I got back to get a French degree instead–so that’s what I did.”
Aside from Cheshire’s love for language acquisition, she also adds to the Robinson community by bringing in her years of expertise.
“She was at a charter school, a Montessori school, as a matter of fact. But she’s taught French for a very, very long time, and she was very excited to get back into public school system,” Brown said.
Cheshire understands the challenges students face and works to create an environment that fosters genuine interest and learning. She wishes to encourage projects related to the culture of France to immerse students into the subject with enjoyment.
“I’m trying to balance schoolwork and interest. So, I have some ideas about doing projects that are more culturally focused. It’ll be in-depth—preparing them [the students] for speaking and presenting as well as kind of making it a bit more fun, hopefully,” Cheshire said.
Cheshire is determined to help her students catch up and find their footing.
“I think so far, this year has been a little unstable because they have been without a teacher for a while, so I’m just trying to get us back on track.”
Aside from her own joy in teaching, students are also excited to study while following her lead.
“My first impression of her [Cheshire] was that she is very nice and understands how to explain French to us in a way that makes sense. I think she is going to make French class a lot of fun and help us build confidence in speaking and learning new things,” Maddie Bowles (’26) said.
Her skills have led to her instantly becoming an invaluable member of the Robinson family.
“I’m excited. I think the kids will be too,” Brown said. “Hopefully you guys won’t scare her off, and then she’ll stay here and make this French program grow.”