2 ÉCOLES PRIVÉES BILINGUES INTERNATIONALES EN PROVENCE
École Marseille Tél : 04 91 530 000
École Aix-en-Provence Tél : 04 42 600 300
École Marseille Tél : 04 91 530 000
École Aix-en-Provence Tél : 04 42 600 300
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EPIM : Language school, bilingual school, or international school?
The term "International School" is not regulated: by adding a few hours of foreign languages to a curriculum, a school can call itself an international school in France. However, the results obtained are not at all the same: an international school prepares it's students to live in a globalized society where speaking English is necessary, but not sufficient. What questions must a parent ask themselves when selecting an international school to invest in their child's future?
[25/01/2011]
Deciding on an international future for a child goes without saying. Knowing how to live in a globalized society will not just be an asset for a child, it will be a serious handicap if they are not able to do so. We're not talking about their inability to express themselves in English compared with their mother tongue. It is in the fast-growing countries of today that the parents placed more importance on the education of their children yesterday, even if all of the social classes were not concerned. Unfortunately, France lags behind in this subject, and schools, despite prestigious nominations, do not always prepare children for tomorrow's society, let alone today's. When given the choice of several institutions, international parents make no mistake: they seek an establishment that will welcome their child with the same quality and standards that can be found in any serious international school around the world. But what about French parents who wish to have the same approach?With its strong international culture, what is an international parent looking for when they visit EPIM?
A) The curriculum: it should be recognized by national and international institutions: Personal initiatives regarding teaching methods to use, while very present in French culture, are unnecessary and are often dangerous for the future of the child if they marginalize them. In this regard, many international experts say the pedagogical issues that arise in France today have been discovered over 20 years ago in some other parts of the world. At this point innovation is unnecessary because there are international programs that were developed almost 50 years ago by experts worldwide that have had time to prove their performance. EPIM follows the same curriculum as 2000 international schools worldwide. Additionally, EPIM is very careful to meet the requirements of the French program of National Education thus preparing it's students for further studies in French and International institutions. Unlike other schools, EPIM has taken the time to ask two institutions, internationally and nationally to periodically check their educational approach. It is the ECIS or the European Council of International Schools and the Inspection Académique Française. We invite any visitors to contact these two institutions to verify EPIM's convincing results obtained by the two schools in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
B) The team and curriculum organisation: They must be consistent with the curriculum taught by the school. At EPIM, all of our teachers are national and international graduates from their respective countries. EPIM, not being a language school, doesn't just hire an English teacher, but an international school teacher. Similarly, the fact of being fluent in English or being English is not enough to be hired at EPIM. EPIM has two educational directors, one national and one international. In charge of both establishments, these directors provide the management of their respective teams through weekly educational meetings. They guide the teachers with a common and defined educational plan, and invite the teachers to use their talent and imagination to develop their curriculum around this blueprint. Both directors are responsible for the coherence of the teaching programs at EPIM following the national and international developments at all times.
C) The results of the school with the children is most difficult to judge. For example, if one refers to admissions tests that a school gives, they do not necessarily provide the quality of results obtained in the school itself by its own students. In extreme cases, it is not because a child gets the grades expected of him that he has truly learned how to obtain them. It's in reference to what the child has learned in the long-term. Thus at EPIM more emphasis is placed on acquiring skills rather than their ability to memorize knowledge by heart. In this way, along with a total immersion in a bilingual environment, EPIM focuses on what children enjoy learning, having fun while learning and in general to develop autonomy that transforms them into active learners. As adolescents and later as adults, these students will have the capability to adapt to any new environment, whether personal, academic, professional, cultural, geographical, etc. The ultimate goal of EPIM is not obtained immediately and/or easily. Parents should be concerned with whether the school knows it's curriculum well and can put it into place perfectly by the pedagogical director. They should also be concerned with the organisation of the teachers and staff. It is important that they are in direct coherence with an educational blueprint that omits any type of innovation/ pseudo miraculous skills that tinker with the education and risk marginalizing the child. Finally, the school must show that it is able to evaluate the children as objectively as possible, through supporting evidence, both short and long term, and that it can track the progress of each child to meet targets it has set for the long term.
D) The International network of schools: as paradoxical as it may sound, many international schools in France have no connection to the international, if not through the international parents they welcome. EPIM maintains regular relations with international schools, specifically in Paris and in Switzerland for example, and travels their often. These contacts, which EPIM considers essential is not only for its credibility, but also enables them to monitor both the changing approach of the international schools worldwide and the global society to which it prepares children. The founders of EPIM took part in the forum of international schools, which is exclusively in English, a few months ago in Nice, and were then able to strengthen their network.
E) The directors of the school: they must be able to meet all requirements listed above. Parents who already know the international schools can not be mistaken. The founding leaders of EPIM came to Provence to join their families and to establish this school for their children. They are both from business and engineering schools, and their management skills have been proven in multinational companies for which they previously exercised as executives. They are multilingual, their knowledge of international business is undeniable, and they have built up a dynamic and successful teaching team. The Executive Director of EPIM in Aix has spent her entire career in Switzerland being in contact with international schools who currently reference her work. Her husband and co-founder, the General Director of the EPIM in Marseilles, has also worked abroad as a training director which gave him the invaluable opportunity to meet with experts in instruction from around the world. With Franco-Italian origins that go back centuries from the Val d'Aosta, a crossroad between France, Switzerland, and the Italian cultures, for him a multilingual, multicultural environment is innate. The bilingual nature of this Franco-Italian autonomous region, and the official status and parity of languages, act as the foundation of the school system in the Val d'Aosta and is present as early as kindergarten. Today, by teaching English, this bilingual school is moving towards multilingualism. All these elements and others have transformed the school of Val d'Aosta into a point of observation in the world for language didactics. It represents, for the founding leaders of EPIM, an opportunity to stay connected and up-to-date with new activities.
All of these questions asked by parents wishing to invest in their child's future by enrolling them in an international school are answered through the organization and management of EPIM which are seldom present in all French schools. However, we would like to note that this is a fairly standard pattern observed in all recognized international schools worldwide.
