Francine Saltoun, La Médaille d’or de Solidarité et Valeur

Francine Saltoun, born in Paris, received a Fulbright scholarship to come to the U.S. after graduating from the Sorbonne. Francine has dedicated most of her life to promoting French culture and language in the U.S. as well as fostering Franco-American friendship and understanding through public service. For her exceptionnel service, she was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques and Chevalier dans l’Ordre national du Mérite.

Francine’s dedication to enriching her community is best reflected in her involvement at the Alliance Française de Chicago. Francine was named to the Alliance’s Board of Directors in 1982. Francine’s experience was instrumental in creating the Award Towards Excellence Scholarship Program, establishing an unprecedented partnership with Chicago Public Schools. Each year, over 60 public high school students from under-resourced communities meet weekly at the Alliance for French language and cultural enrichment classes. Students compete to receive scholarship trips to France. Through this program, students with diverse backgrounds improve their academic performance and increase their self-esteem while perfecting their foreign language skills. The program has served as a model for other Alliances Françaises. Francine continues to spend countless hours leading this program.

In the sixty years Francine has lived in the U.S. as a teacher, wife, and parent, she has passionately launched initiatives to expose students to her French heritage.  Settling in Chicago after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a Master’s in French, she was hired as a teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. Shortly thereafter, the school learned it was illegal to hire a non-U.S. citizen. This prompted Francine to work with Illinois Senator Charles Percy to modify the law so a non-citizen could work in public schools. Francine also taught at Lake Forest College and the University of Maryland. Francine was the founder of the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 1974, a program which thrives today. For 10 years, she organized and led small groups on cultural trips in search of la France “profonde” and beyond—to the Pays Basque, Dordogne, Provence and Paris. Visits to Paris included VIP receptions at the Hotel de Ville with a welcome by Mayor Jacques Chirac, the Assemblée Nationale, and the Sénat.

Francine raised three daughters and now shares her cultural heritage with her six grandchildren, who are bilingual in French and English.