About the March 3 Conference on Bilingual Education in Aix Marseille

The conference I posted about here, held in Marseille on March 3, 2010, under the auspices of MAABN and the British Consulate, was a great success.

There were a good 100 of us attending, with an interest in bilingual education in the region: either parents and/or officials from various institutions and companies like the American Consulate, CMA-CGM company, and ITER, the large international research project near Manosque.

The discussion went on for two hours, with each panel member introducing him or herself and his/her activity.

Some of the things I learned:

- There is a high demand, especially on the part of the British in Marseille, for an education offering classes in English for children of these native English speakers who attend French-only schools today.

Why? Because when British or Franco-British or even Korean families relocate to the area, they may not be here to stay indefinitely. Their children need to be able to return to their school systems and therefore receive proper teaching in English. These children are otherwise fluent speakers of English but they are not able to read or write it.

There is no public instituion in Marseille offering a high level of English teaching. The only private option in the primary is EPIM. There are more publicly funded options in Aix but they remain very limited, as mentioned on a previous post here on bilingual schools in the area. Companies wishing to bring in foreign staff, often in their thirties, have trouble persuading some to relocate because of this gap in the educational offering.

- The “Recteur de l’Académie de Marseille”, a very good English speaker himself, explained to us the intricacies of the international options in the French education system today:

Unfortunately, the OIB and European Option of the Baccalauréat are not well known by universities abroad. They remain a French approach to internationalization.

My humble opinion that the issue is not so much how do we offer international sections in public schools in France but how do we open up the French educational system to languages in general, English in particular, given its dominance today?

There is such a demand on the part of purely French parents themselves for their children to acquire the English proficiency they lack that adding more professionally run English teachings from Maternelle onwards until Lycee is an obvious way to help both French nationals and foreign nationals relocating here temporarily.

When native English speakers with strong teaching skills are present in all French schools at all levels, then they ‘ll be able to involve the native English-speaking students in their classrooms to a higher degree, given their natural abilities, and thereby pull all the other students, the native French speakers, up in terms of language proficiency.

The International Parents network in France is there to connect all interested parties in this matter: teachers, school officials, company managers, associations and parents, and help raise awareness of this issue among French officials and politicians. Contact us through the comments feature below to join and be counted!

Conference on Bilingual Education in the Aix- Marseille (Provence) region

Reprinted:

Bilingual Education in Marseille-Provence
(Education Conference Series, Part I Elementary, Middle High School Education)
Conference/debate Wednesday 3 March 2010
(Places limited, RSVP mandatory)

The Anglo-American Community, strongly anchored in Marseille-Provence, represents an extensive network of active professionals and companies, which includes managers, engineers, teachers and creators of all sorts, with businesses in many different areas of activity. It consists of both permanent and temporary residents, often with families and distinct educational needs. American and British companies are the most significant foreign investors in the region, supporting and creating much employment.

The Anglo-American Community shares with the regional economic development agencies and the international companies located here, a concern about the international educational facilities available in the area at both the primary and secondary levels (grade, middle and high schools– higher education will be the subject of another conference later this year).

MAABN is raising the debate around a number of important questions:
Are the public and private international education facilities that exist equitably and efficiently distributed throughout the territory and, do they satisfy the requirements of Anglo-American families and the businesses they work for?
Are non-French-speaking children catered for?
What are the reactions of foreign companies seeking to invest here?
Where does international education lead?
(other questions could be added or substituted………….)

MAABN is delighted to welcome:
Jean Paul de Gaudemar, Rector of the Aix-Marseille Académie
Gail Ellis, Head of the language teaching centre at the British Council Paris
Robert Maury, Managing Director of Provence Promotion
Adelia Hackenheimer, Director of the International Section of High School Georges Duby in Luynes,
Julia Fady, with the International Section of the Middle School Mignet in Aix-en-Provence.
Laurence Mouquet, Assistant Director of the Middle School Jacques Monod in Pennes Mirabeau which has an International Section (Present also, Director Mr Beltran and English Teacher Mrs Bretelle)
Mrs. Sophie Bellot, Director of Epim
Mr Trevor Alan Tricker, Head of International Studies at IBS, Luynes

The round table discussion will feature Simon Taylor, British Consul, Kathleen Riley, US Consul General and other guests in the audience.

Practical information:

Conference……….In English, with Q&A in English or French
Date & time……….3 March 2010 from18:30 to 21:00 (Punctuality appreciated)

Venue…………….La Bo[a]te, 35 rue de la Paix Marcel Paul, 13001 Marseille (parking, Cours Estienne d’Orves)

Entrance fees…..Members & Sponsors: 5 euros / Non-Members: 10 euros (payment at the door, cash or pre-prepared check to MAABN)

RSVP mandatory..

Interest for this event is high, Reserve Early, places and seating will be limited : contact@maabn.fr, standing room only for late comers

About MAABN: Mediterranean Anglo-American Business Network

MAABN (Mediterranean Anglo-American Business Network) was founded in Marseille by company directors, consultants and economic development agencies and has developed an international platform promoting corporate exchanges and business networking in the Marseille-Provence region.

MAABN has the support of both the US and British Consulates in Marseille and is the Marseille-Provence region’s representative of the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry and AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce in France). MAABN organises a monthly English speaking business networking event, the “Language Apero”, as well as numerous conferences throughout the year.

MAABN also supports and promotes a number of its Sponsors’ and Partners’ corporate and cultural events across the region.

— > For more information: www.maabn.fr / contact@maabn.fr

International Parents Coffee Mornings in Aix and Paris

The International parents Club is organizing Coffee mornings on themes you have an interest in, as internationally minded parents.  Right now ( as of January 2010) they’re happenning in Aix en provence and Paris.  As soon as we can , we’ll organize some everywhere else, whether it be  New York, Moscow, Shangai or Dubai.

Upcoming dates:

• Aix en provence:
  >Jan 22, 2010
  > March 5, 2010

• Paris :
  > Jan 26th, 2010
  > Week of february 15th, day to be confirmed

You can contact Caroline via the Aix Marseille region of the networking space or post a comment on this blog to ask to sign up and attend.

CIPEC: an ambitious bilingual school in Aix en Provence

To follow up on my analysis of international schools in the Aix Marseille region, I ‘d like to give kudos to the oldest one: CIPEC ( Centre International pour l’Education et la Culture) .

As of 2009, 25 years after its founding, it is still run by the same couple, Mr and Mme Pecnard, both French teachers by training, and teachers at CIPEC itself for the last two primary school years ( CM1 and CM2 in the French system, Grades 4 and 5 in the North American systems). They bring a strong commitment to quality education, both in French and in English and a cozy yet structured environment for the children.

Do not look for the Montessori approach here. While the children are truly evaluated and taken into account as individuals, they are to follow the teachings of their teachers and abide by group rules.

The outside play area gives the children a wonderful playground, especially for the older ones, where they can roam the foresty grounds behind the school. The younger ones have a smaller, enclosed play area, providing for a safe environment where they are not mixed in with older, potentially roudy children.

The school offers a true bilingual curriculum and manages the various English and French levels of its students by creating two to three language levels per grade. The advanced English speakers for a given grade will be in one level, the intermediate levels in another, and the beginners, finally in a third English section. French students who enter CIPEC in pre-Kindergarden become completely fluent in English within a few years.

Conversely, English speakers get a demanding teaching in French. My first impression is the school is stronger in the English language skills, despite the efforts by Mr and Mme Pecnard to instill the best teaching practices the French school system has to offer for the last two years.

The children get a well rounded education, with academic teachings in Math, History, Geography, Science and French and English Languages, along with Theater, Music, Arts and Sports two whole afternoons a week. This is exceptional compared to a French school, where non academic teachings, and sports in particular, get at most a couple hours a week, and are considered minor disciplines.

Tuition is that of an independent private school in France, at about 7 500 Euros a year ( with a discount for sibblings), and includes hot meals served daily from a local organic kitchen.

Children can add optional sports activities like horseback riding and additional languages as well. I know my kids love to go to school there. I can see the work they do and am generally impressed by both its quantity and quality.

On a practical level, the school has a bus service for children between Aix en Provence and Luynes, 5 minutes south of Aix where the school in located. The additional fee (in 2009) for this is 800 euros year. Otherwise, parking is a little complicated, but this is France after all! One must be ready, when relocating here, for the little daily life disconforts that come from the land of Haute Couture and Haute Cuisine … As a dedicated Canadian mom says, quite wisely: ” Ask not what the parking can do for you, but what YOU can do for the parking!”.

The parents at CIPEC form a close knit community, and as much as possible is done on their initiative to welcome new families to the school and the region, where settling can be nerve wracking… See my other posts on this blog.

Le Monde announces launch of UWC Lycee in les Milles, Aix en provence

Le Monde of this July 22, 2009 announces a project to create an international ( English or Spanish track) Lycée ( or High School) in Les Milles, just West of Aix en provence, where a micro Silicon Valley has developped.

Its to be developped by an international organization (part non profit, part company) , UWC ( United World Colleges), founded in the 1950’s by a German educationalist, Kurt Hahn, and which has gained the support of royals and UN top brass like Lord Mountbatten, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Nelson Mandela over the years.

About UWC:

UWC has 12 Colleges located on five continents, 11 schools are pre-university and teach the IB Diploma and one is a tertiary agriculture school. It claims it selects students based on merit versus the parents’ ability to pay for tuition.

UWC seeks additional funding for the secondary intitution to open, however. It accepts donations and seeks out volunteers to staff its National Committees.

UWC National Committees

UWC depends on the dedication and expertise of a network of volunteers to find and select the majority of our future students.
These volunteer groups are called National Committees and they operate in over 120 countries worldwide.

UWC National Committees promote UWC to prospective students in their country, encourage and support applications and select students based on merit to represent their country at the Colleges.

– > UWC site

– > UWC France

In France, UWC organizes summer camps for youth in Megève, in the French Alps. There the fee is 1800 euros for 2 weeks.

International Children’s Education in Aix Marseille

Here’s a quick listing of schools with an international or at minimum, a bilingual French-English curriculum. I also put all these schools on a map to help you all visualize their locations: map of international schools, public and private in the Aix -Manosque region .

The International Parents club is there to help you exchange your experiences about schools and other matters you have an interest in. Joining is free and by invitation by current members only. Contact us through the Comments link below to ask to join.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS:

-> IRIS: English-French Pre-K in Aix en Provence.
Same site as for Europipole, below.

-> Europipole:Nursery to Primary levels.
See our post here, and the very interesting comments. Tuition is the most reasonable, at 3 000 euros a year. Centre de Loisirs Municipal Parc Club de l’arbois 13480 CABRIES . About 30 km south of Aix, 15 km north of Marseille. PreK and Primary. Tél. / Fax : 04 42 315 315.

-> CIPEC: Luynes, 10 km south of Aix. Pre-K and Primary .
Domaine de Fontvieille – Luynes 13080 AIX EN PROVENCE – FRANCE Tél: +33 (0)4 42 60 84 25 – Fax: + 33 (0)4 42 60 84 26 Email: info @ c-i-p-e-c.com. See our post here. They also offer Wednesday afternoon activities in English open to all children.

-> IBS, International Bilingual School of Provence: Secondary level.
Domaine des Pins- 500 Petite Route de Bouc-Bel-Air, Luynes. 10km south of Aix. Tél : (33)(0)4 42 24 03 40 Fax : (33)(0)4 42 24 09 81.
They also offer all day Wednesday English language activities for outside students.

-> EPIM: PreK (Nursery) and Primary school
With campuses in Luynes and Marseille. Very free handed approach to education, totally bilingual French and English, with fees in the 7 000 to 10 000 Euro range! They also offer Wednesday afternoon English language activities for outside students.

-> Val St André, in Aix en Provence: High School.
Offers the traditional French curriculum with special arrangements for bilingual students, as well as a full International section for the High School level. Tuition is about 5 000 euros a year in 2009.

FRENCH PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS with “EUROPEAN SECTIONS”

These public schools offer a European or international section for students fluent in another European language only.  They offer more courses in this European language than the traditional French system, but do not expect a full bilingual track.  These are: language classes at a mother toungue level ( wether English, German or Spanish) , and either geography or history.  Getting into these sections requires taking a language proficiency exam as well as a general exam in other subjects if the applicant does not come from the French public system.  Tuition is nearly free.  Selection is therefore very high.  However, keep in mind your teenager will be in this international section for only a few hours a week.

- Collège Mignet, Junior High School: in Aix en provence.
French , public system Junior High School with an English international section.  The students in this section get 8 hours of teaching in English per week. The rest of the school drains students from the low income Jas de Bouffan population. Parents are fighting to improve the quality of the school infrastructure. Here’s the link to the very active international section parents association, APELEVIA.

- Lycée George Duby: senior High School. In Luynes, just south of Aix en Provence:
French , public system senior High School with international sections in various languages ( English, German, among the ones I know of). Again, this means students in that section get a few more classes in English than those in the purely French section, but its not a bilingual education. If they wish to present British exams, the students must work independently. It drains students from Luynes and further south ( Cabriès, Bouc Bel Air, Simiane, etc…). Here’s the link to the active international parents association, common to Duby and Mignet.

- College des Pennes Mirabeau: junior high school . West of Marseille : This junior high school just opened an international section in 2009. It’s not been well publicized so there’s still space.

- Ecole Internationale de Manosque: Pre-K, primary to High School. Situated 60 km north of Aix: Created in 2008 in reaction to the big ITER industrial project, this school covers all levels of education, from preK to High School, with Japanese, English and Italian sections, among others. The Manosque parents association site is accessible here.

–> Map of international schools, public and private in the Aix -Manosque region . I have yet to do Marseille, any suggestions for me?

Test a new English Practice program for kids 7-12

Here’ s a link to try out a new online language practice program for kids, between 7 and 12 I’d say, who are learning English in school in France or in a French speaking country:

Rich Morning Show kids’ English language program

It’s an animated program, based on a talk show format, the ‘ Rich Morning Show ‘. The children are contestants who answer questions based on short animated video sequences they watch.

There’ s two free sessions for all, and five 21 session programs to win for the first five who sign up.

Finally a site about the Internet and Children

As I was updating the internationalparents blog, I noticed among the Google generated ads that are automatically sent to the right of the site this link: http://www.internetevolution.com.

I thought, hum, what’s that about?

To my good surprise, its not another site about the latest innovations that are going to mean Web 2.0, and even Web 3.0 are old news. No, this IBM backed site seems, at first glance, to take a societal look at the Web, with parents’ voices being heard loud and clear.

The themes I struggle with as a parent and web fanatic appear there and are debated, at last!
These are:

• How do we prevent our children from accessing shocking content on the web?
  Or put in a positive light: How do we create a safe internet for our children?
• Another question that gets little press is finally addressed: how to manage the security of information on the web? Protect it from thiefs?
• On a related topic, how to protect our identity on the web, ie, prevent that from being ’stolen’ by someone posing as ourself on the wide open web?

The Web we have today is a young, fearless 20 year old creation with no social conscience. We need, as parents and as responsible citizens, to push for a Web that’s conscious of its responsibility towards society because its impact is immense on the young crowd in particular.

- > Here’s the link again: InternetEvolution.com

Europipole: an (incredible) international school south of Aix in Cabriès

Amended December 21, 2009 – See below

Finding a good school for your children while moving about worldwide is not easy. Often, as an international parent, you’re looking for a school that’s open to other languages and cultures in its curriculum. You often think of looking for an ‘international’ or bilingual school.

The Aix region is blessed with a few of these schools at the Pre-K, and Primary levels. See my post here for a general look at bilingual or international school options and a map of these schools.

I have amended my post below, as I found the general level of instruction at Europipole to be disappointing, not because the school management is not truly passionate about education, but because of a lack of structure in the school’s management.

I discovered a great pre-K and Primary school with a German/ French and an English/French track: Europipole. The school calls itself a ‘ bilingual ‘ school as opposed to an international one because it stresses it seeks to give children perfect language litteracy in the two languages chosen. The goal, in my view, as someone who is both a native French and English speaker, deserves praise, given many international schools are in fact focused on English as the true common language of instruction. But is it realistic? In any case, in 2008, the level in English in the primary was a limited “beginner Plus”, notably because there were not enough native speakers.

The school is run by a passionate couple who both teach as well as run the school. The school is their second one in the region, after IRIS, a German-French pre-K center in Aix launched in 2000. IRIS is becoming a bilingual English-French pre-K center in september 2008 due to strong demand for this language as opposed to German.

There is a real family atmosphere at Europipole thanks to the couple’s passion for bilinguilism and thanks to the small size of the school. Maybe a little too informal and ‘playful’ for some parents, as recesses tend to drag on longer than they should. In 2008, it has a little under 100 children, with classes being very small – a maximum of 15 students. They use the facilities of a ‘ centre de loisirs ‘ a sort of municipal holiday and after school facility, with a beautiful natural courtyard surrounded by a beautiful forest and sports facilities including tennis courts. The children have access to these facilities during their sports activities.

The choice to use a municipal facility makes tuition at the school much more reasonable than what is usually expected of private ‘international’ schools. In fact tuition is about 3 000 euros a year. The school has the lunch box system.

English and German are taught by level (from beginner to proficient) by native speaking certified teachers.

- The preK levels have two full days in English or German, depending on their chosen track, and the other two days in French.

- The primary level kids have 1,5 hour in English or German and the remainder in French to follow the French curriculum.

– > Again, general post on international schools in Aix and Manosque (one hour north of Aix).

Parenting: The Most Important Job..?

Have you ever read or heard from others- usually working parents or mature adults- that, as a parent, and particularly a stay-at-home parent (and often a mom), you’re “doing the most important job” ? Well, I know that deciding as a couple to raise happy, self-confident, open-minded, and healthy children, is one the most beautiful and challenging job two can take on, and friends and acquaintances seem to think that way too, but strangely, the world doesn’t seem to function as if that were the case? Or maybe, holding the most important job translates into: ” You’re on your own, baby ” or, to use VIP speak: ” It’s lonely at the top ” ..

The only Job with no Vacation, Pay or Training:

This “most important job” implies that you as a parent devote a significant amount of your time and energy to raising your children, between 20 hours a week to all your free time.
Often times professionals who become parents in the US have to make a choice between what they think is best for them personally and financially and participating actively in their children’s upbringing.

It’s not rare that remaining in the position they were in before having children means seeing their children little more than an hour or two a day, and some find that’s less than what they wish when their children are very young.

What it doesn’t entail, in my view is that you, as the parent who ends up not working or who works less than you’d like to personally, are going to be doing this parenting job around the clock, exclusively of anything else!

It seems like that’s what parents, often times unknowingly, sign up for when they have children in the US. Given the lack of affordable quality childcare and education, all except a priviledged minority are to stop most of the sort of intellectual and social activity they had prior to having children, and turn solely to playgroups, birthing and parenting seminars and their kids’ activities to be able to have an adult conversation once again outside of their circle of friends and family.

Even though you may be holding ” the most important job ” and you may have expected some recognition for this choice, just as a VIP is treated with some deference, you have in fact become the sole person responsible for your little ones, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- so now,” you’re on your own, baby ” (or should I say, you and your baby!)!;-)

Try doing something else…

Try being a volunteer on the board of a non profit for instance. You have some time on your hands- supposedly anyway- and you’d like to use it wisely by helping a local non profit of your choice as a volunteer board member. Well, if you were that prestigious, Wall Street broker who has to travel from New York to San Francisco to attend the board meetings, you might just get reimbursement for your trip because travel is a deductible expense. But say you’re just a local parent who knows the issues, and has a genuine interest in helping out, and.. you need to get child care for those few hours? You pick up the tab baby! You’re doing the most important job, ain’t ya?

C’mon, I know being there for one’s children is important in this country, but is it important to be there 100% of the time? Couldn’t there be recognition that as parents, entrusted with our sacred task of producing the best citizens a country can have, we are allowed and hell, even encouraged to take a breather, either for ourselves or to be able to continue playing a role in our community outside of attending children’s ballet classes?

Say you wished to go one step further.. As a parent, you have a neat business idea that’d be compatible with your family life. You’d like to create an exercise studio cum coffee house where children can be cared for for a fee while parents enjoy flexing and stretching those sore back muscles for an hour or so…Don’t you have about a hundred people in mind already who’d kill for such a place? If you were that person starting a venture fund who needs to offer a good meal to a prospective client so as to help get those few millions you want to invest for her, you might well be able to write off that luncheon at Chez Panisse as a business expense.

But say you have to incurr child care expenses of $800 to $1,200 a month simply to research your market, make contacts with prospective clients and lenders and search for a location..? You pick up the tab, you most important job holder you! Yeah, it sure is lonely at the very top – especially among the few who do start a business under these circumstances!;-)

Now for the small (and lighter) stuff…

Mobility for VIPs and their trusted cargo:

Try taking a bus in the city by the bay…It saves on parking tickets and it’s less polluting, so given the option, why not? If you were so lucky as to be handicapped, obese or a senior, you’d get a royal treatment.. The bus would start making this beeping noise while the platform would descend to the street level while you royally mount the vehicule. But if you happen to be a ” most important job holder ” with one or more of your precious ones, well, you can :

• fold your stroller,
• carry ‘them kids up on the bus while holding the stroller with your third hand and those huge arm muscles you have as a VIP
• and hold on ’cause the bus is already moving and you haven’t paid and no one’s moving to give up their seat.. ”

Oh, and is Billy crying now ’cause you pulled on his arm? Please quiet him down.”

Next try going to Children’s Hospital in Oakland and parking where you can then roll your stroller out of the parking garage. Are you handicapped? Not officially. Are you a doctor here, a nurse? Nope, I’m holding the most important job, you see.. Well then you can’t park in those spaces that are on the street level, you have to go up and then find some way to get down those stairs (there’s no elevator you see) with a stroller and a three year old who doesn’t feel like walking…

It’s a tough job, the most important job they say, although if you were landing here from Mars, you may not know it..;-)