- The class will be a priori face-to-face, with all the students. But by keeping the same sanitary instructions as those applied at the end of the school year. Unless the epidemic situation changes.
- The assessments at the start of the year will be strengthened, as will the student support systems. However, there are currently no plans to lighten the programs.
It will be a necessarily complex comeback. The 12 million students who will resume class on September 1 will do so in a somewhat vague atmosphere, due to the potential second wave of the coronavirus epidemic in France. And after a tormented end to the school year, taking the necklace back will not be obvious either to the students or to their teachers.
20 Minutes takes stock of the devices already known for the start of the school year.
Health measures that can be adapted
The start of the school year will be “almost normal”, Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday during an interview on TF1 and France 2. In other words, the class will be a priori face-to-face, with all the students. But by keeping the same sanitary instructions as those applied at the end of the school year. Provision is therefore made for “barrier gestures, hand hygiene, wearing of a mask for adults and students over 11 years of age when the distance rules cannot be observed in confined spaces as well as in school transport, cleaning and ventilation of premises “, Details the return circular published last week.
But caution remains necessary and "if there was an acceleration (of the virus) during the month of August, we will have to review this return," said Emmanuel Macron. "In the event that the health situation requires more stringent measures, due to the active circulation of the virus on all or part of the national territory, a plan for educational continuity, available for consultation in the coming days, will be put in place to ensure distance education ”, specifies the circular. But according to the teachers' unions, there is a delay in lighting: "No scenario of a resumption of the pandemic is envisaged by the ministry, which has nevertheless had several months to prepare for it", criticizes Sud Education in a press release . “The ministry should have communicated before the closure of establishments in summer the health and educational plans planned according to the different scenarios (low circulation of the virus, localized clusters or larger clusters at the level of a department). School leaders may have to improvise at the last moment, ”fears Sophie Vénétitay, co-secretary general of Snes-FSU.
Reinforced assessments to take stock
Where are the students in their academic achievements? This will be the big question at the start of the school year. Because all did not work with the same regularity during confinement and could not catch up with the concepts that they should have assimilated during the year.
To take stock of their level of education, the Ministry of Education has planned to rely on the national assessments in French and math which already existed for pupils in CP, CE1 and 6e, and which are compulsory. But at the start of the next school year, they will be advanced and will take place from September 14, "to provide quick answers and not to let school difficulties settle in," explains the school year circular. New: in 6th grade, a fluency test in reading will be added and will be carried out "in the first days of the 6th grade".
For pupils of other levels up to 3rd grade, there will be no systematic assessments, but teachers will be able to do placement tests. "Short and punctual, they instantly measure the mastery of fundamental skills and identify the priorities for each student," said the circular. Tools that are rather well received by teachers: “You have to see how they are designed. But it can be useful for teachers. It remains to be seen then, when we have positioned the student's level, what we can offer him as a support device, ”says Sophie Vénétitay. Jean-Rémi Girard, of Snalc, the secondary union, is more skeptical: "These are not assessments that we will need, but more hourly and human resources, when we risk having more pupils in difficulty, ”he told AFP.
Programs that will not a priori be lightened
The Ministry of National Education published on Thursday its "educational priorities and positioning tools for the period September-October". And they are clear, since mathematics and French are defined as the two priority disciplines for the start of the school year.
But it is not planned for the time of program reduction, confirms the entourage of Jean-Michel Blanquer. “While we know that the pace of student acquisitions will be slower at the start of the school year. And if we keep the same programs, this could pose real concerns for students who are in exam classes. And that risks widening the educational inequalities between the establishments which will be able to complete the programs and those where this will not be possible ”, estimates Sophie Vénétitay. Several voices are calling for a review of the programs. Snes has also proposed possible layouts by level and by subject. For its part, the Association of History and Geography Teachers (AP-HG), also believes that the programs of its discipline should be reduced in high school, in a press release published earlier this month.
Aid for pupils in difficulty
According to figures from the Ministry of National Education, 4% of students have dropped out. A figure that can sometimes rise much higher, testify to many teachers, who say they have, for some, lost up to "a third of the class". To strengthen personalized support for students, the ministry has already announced that it will fund 1.5 million additional hours. A figure which seems enormous, but which is not that much according to Sophie Vénétitay: “This number of hours will quickly be exhausted because they will both serve to set up work in small groups, personalized help, orientation help, the "homework done" system, success courses (refresher courses offered to students during the holidays) ... ", she explains.
Support courses will be offered to 6th grade students who find it difficult to read, write and count (up to 5 hours per week). The “homework done” system will also be boosted at the start of the school year. Or 3 hours per week instead of 2 last year, and even 4 hours for the 6th year student volunteers over the period from September to December. "But we don't know how many students it will concern if the system benefits those who need it most," comments Sophie Vénétitay. Because for the time being, the ministry has still not planned to impose these hours of supervised work on certain students.
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