Last night, with a nod to Proust, I went to bed early. It’s been an intense week, as you know, marked by the visit of Mr. Olivier Quénis and Mr. Ludovic Sauvage as part of The École’s French Ministry of Education accreditation review. Since the start of the year, Sophie and I have worked hard on the administrative side of things, which allowed the inspectors to have a clear idea of how the school operates (an operation that is a bit out-of-the-ordinary when viewed from France: a private, independent, bilingual school, with benefactors rather than a board of governors…that hosts parties for 350 people in a ping pong club!)*
Once the paperwork was out of the way, all that was left was for us to be ourselves, open the doors of our classrooms, and let the magic happen. And it did not disappoint! Quite the opposite, in fact, it all went better than we had hoped. Admittedly, we were met by two open-minded, curious inspectors who were very familiar with our school and its background. From the get-go, their approach to their missions was less of an evaluation and more of an opportunity to get to know our community, which obviously led to some truly wonderful moments.
Between classroom visits, during which teachers were able to demonstrate both their expertise and flare for teaching the French curricula, highly technical meetings with the STRIVE and Counseling departments, a breakfast conversation with the (French-speaking) TÉPA officers, and exchanges on the role of the library and the use of AI tools, Mr. Sauvage and Mr. Quénis were able to fully gauge the level of commitment of everyone in our community, to appreciate the scope and quality of The École’s educational offer, and to suggest areas for further reflection.
As you can imagine, the pivotal moment of these two days was a meeting with a small group of students: the House Captains (Kyla, Aneilia, Sofia, and Layla), the president of the student council and eco-delegate (Elle), another eco-delegate, and three elected members of the student council (Sasha, Roxane, Joseph, and Rose). I came clean with the students when I asked if they would like to join the meeting, admitting that I had no idea what they would be asked. My only guidance was to be honest and to say exactly what they wanted to say.
As luck would have it, they had nothing but wonderful things to say about their school. Things that inspectors don’t hear every day. Mr. Quénis and Mr. Sauvage were so impressed by the students’ enthusiasm that they quoted their answers back to me afterward. Rose from 3rd Grade is probably the one who summed up best what it means to be a student at The École, “You feel loved by our teachers and classmates.” With such feedback, it’s hardly surprising that the inspectors were won over and have full confidence in us to continue our work within the network of accredited schools. Like many before them, they arrived curious and left convinced.
A heartfelt merci to all of you who help make The École a magical and wonderful place every single day.
*Photos of the party can be found here
