Villebrumier. Guided studying, a bonus for children

The classroom is so quiet you would think it was deserted. As we get closer, and at the level of the windows, we see a few children’s heads bent over notebooks. We are listening, we are at the Étienne-Astoul school in Villebrumier. However, at the end of the tables that form a U, people speak English. Kenzo replies, “I don’t.” We hear another question: “Do you like cooking?”. Myriam Nouyer, support for students with disabilities (AESH), is leading the debate. It was she that evening who made available one of the three supervised study places that the municipality has set up since the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

Guided research, a popular need

The idea for a guided study arose about a year ago. A survey among parents of CP to CM 2 students revealed high expectations. The writing of the Territorial Educational Project (PEDT), jointly with Varennes and Dieupentale, made this local variant of guided study possible. Yaka play, the after-school care center, was responsible for the organization; the teachers were mobilized to support the children. Christine Kaddumi and Elsa Lecoute, teachers at the school, will handle the other two slots, at 4:30 PM, for an hour. The project therefore concerns about thirty children from CP to CM 2, divided into three groups, almost half of the number involved. A real necessity.

A commitment from elected officials

Angélique Tessier, assistant, accompanies us to the school. The visit was organized in advance with Fanny Lacoste, director. At the gate we are greeted with a walkie talkie to open the doors, it is secured. The deputy, chairman of the school committee, describes the phases of this project. She emphasizes that studying does not replace the role of parents, “for example by reciting small poems in the morning before leaving.” Parents are asked to register their child for after-school activities for the transition from school to study. A charter has also been written to guide the system. A modest amount of €5 is requested for a quarter. The municipality, for its part, pays supervisors up to their rank, i.e. an amount of € 2,300, while the parents’ income amounts to approximately € 540 per year.

But all this is still far away for Lou-Ysie, CE 1, who likes to read and write and shows in his bag a voluminous book of 399 pages, while Mathéis himself started writing egg, heart, butter thirty times. Would there be a dictation early tomorrow?