After the myriad of fictional characters roaming the corridors this week for Spirit Week, next week will be marked by the arrival of two very real visitors! As I announced here, we’ll be welcoming the inspectors from the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) as part of The École’s accreditation renewal process. Over the course of two days, Mr. Quénis, the inspector for Primary, and Mr. Sauvage, the inspector for Middle School, will take a 360-degree look at our school to grasp its nuances and understand how it works as fully as possible. Every school has its own background and context; there is no such thing as a single universal model.
You can imagine that the imminent visit has everyone a little on edge— it’s a little like a tax audit, and you have to track down every invoice and receipt you’ve ever been issued, with a niggling feeling that you’re being accused of something even when you know you’ve done nothing wrong. Everyone at The École wants to give the best possible impression of the school, and yet we already know we’ll be told there are areas for improvement; we’ll be told we should have participated in such and such a project, considered using a different platform, suggested a particular activity, or displayed our posters differently.
The inspectors’ role is to delve deep into the nitty-gritty workings of The École so they can form an accurate picture of our school and share the necessary information with the French Ministry of Education, who will have the final say concerning our accreditation renewal during a commission meeting that will be held in…June (needless to say, we’re going to have to display superhuman patience while awaiting the results). But, as I wrote in my previous letter about the inspection, the suspense is hardly unbearable because we already work day in (and) day out to ensure our school is the best possible school it can be. So rather than dread this inspection, I’d prefer that we welcome it as an opportunity to showcase the incredible things that we do.
Mr. Quénis and Mr. Sauvage will meet the teachers, the Parents’ Association, the students, the admin team, and, of course, Philippe and Laurence. They will examine every square inch of both buildings, and nothing will escape their expert eye. We’re not used to being examined so closely, but just a few days before their arrival, what I feel more than anything is proud. Proud to show them a new building that reflects The École’s vitality and vision for the future. Proud to show them what happens in our classrooms and what Ben, Sophie, and I see every day: engaged, enthusiastic students, accompanied by talented, fully dedicated teachers. Proud to show them our students, whose qualities are immediately apparent, beyond their ability to switch from one language to another, they radiate confidence, a desire to learn, and an empathy that I witness every day and that continues to impress me.
And because we are The École and because we don’t do anything the way you’d expect, we’ve scheduled this inspection for the morning after the Holiday Cocktail Party this Tuesday, which once again promises to be epic. So we’ll be in flying form on Wednesday morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to meet the inspectors at 115 at 8 a.m.!