News & Weekly Letters

I began my teaching career 20 years ago in a middle school in the South of France. To be perfectly frank, it got off to a shaky start. My teaching wasn’t quite up to scratch, my students weren’t exactly enthusiastic, the university classes I attended twice a week were grueling and my tutor, although lovely, was demanding; by the time the weekend rolled around, all I wanted to do was decompress and think about something else.

A year ago to the day, we announced our partnership with Léman. We had a twofold aim – to offer our students access to a reputable private high school in New York that systematically sends its alumni to the best universities in the US and around the world, and to extend our students’ bilingual learning experience by proposing an American high school program that allowed them to keep their connection with French language and culture.

President Emmanuel Macron invited me to a reception at the French Embassy in Washington D.C. this week. (I cannot even begin to describe to you how proud my mother was – she immediately set about drafting a list of grievances for me to pass on to him!)  It’s not every day that a head of state invites you to hang out, so I took a look at my agenda to see if I could squeeze in a flying visit to DC while the rest of the team at The École continued to slog away. And well, it turns out I had far more important things to do this week than partying with the president.

Every Wednesday, I begin my “Staff Updates” (an email destined for my colleagues) with a section entitled ”Gratitude” where I thank those whose work has made the school a better place thanks to a project, an action, or a gesture. It’s a habit I borrowed from Manu, one of our Kindergarten teachers—it is a common and touching practice in classes with Class Councils for students to regularly thank each other. Each week, I am always a little apprehensive when I think of the Gratitude paragraph—what if I have no one to thank this week? But it never happens. All you have to do at The École is open your eyes to see amazing things unfold every day. What began as a simple exercise now flows naturally.

This week was obviously a special one on account of the parent-teacher conferences. They are an important moment for the entire community even if at times they feel like competitive chess matches—with limited time to think and each player frantically hitting their clock to stay within the time constraints.