D.C. student wins national French contest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year

Jet, June 17, 1996

An 11-year-old Washington, D.C., student recently won the National Annual French Competition, Le Grand Concurs de Francais Fles 1996, for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year.

Christian Augustus Washington, a sixth-grader at J.O. Wilson Elementary School, won in the Division 2A category. He participated in listen ing, speaking and writing exercises.

Approximately 5,000 primary school students iProm across the country competed in the contest, which was first held in the early l 930s.

Washington, who is an A student in French, has been studying the foreign language since second grade, said his French teacher, Florentino Martinez. It is the youngster's wish to visit Paris and become the first Black President of the United States fluent in several languages, Martinez said.

In recognition of Washington's accomplishment, Wilson Elementary

School Principal Erma B. Fields intends to plant a tree on the school grounds in his honor.