The Lycée is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the French Ministry of Education; it receives no funding from the government of France.

In parallel, students follow an American program, taught by U.S.-trained teachers, similar to what is found in New York City independent schools.

He enlisted the help of Forsythe Wicks, a lawyer and businessman who was the president of the Alliance Française, and Paul Windels, Sr., the attorney general of the City of New York.

Others involved in the founding of the Lycée include Nicholas Murray Butler, the president of Columbia University; Jesse Straus, the U.S. ambassador to France; and Jean Marx, the director of cultural affairs at the Quai d'Orsay.

Taking up nearly a full city block, it houses the upper and lower schools and features such amenities as a 354-seat auditorium and two full-size gymnasiums.

The modern Lycée building was designed by the New York-based architecture firm Polshek Partnership Architects (now Ennead) in 2003.

It consists of two LEED-certified buildings linked together by a patio, serving as a walkway, but also a lawn where students congregate and play.

The facade of the building is made of stainless glass, and the exterior walls are dedicated to great writers, artists, scientists, philosophers and activists of Francophone and American thought.