The new school map arouses anger in Sète. Three city center schools risk losing classes at the start of the school year.
Parents of students from the Arago and Renaissance public elementary schools, as well as the Michelet kindergarten, will be gathered this Tuesday, April 7 at 10 a.m. in front of the town hall of Sète. “Several hundred” of people, striking teachers from the schools concerned, joined by colleagues from other establishments in the city, will demonstrate against the new school map. “We learned last weekend that three public schools in the city center (Arago, Michelet and Renaissance) are affected by a plan to close classes at the next school year, indicate these angry and worried parents of students. We defend the maintenance of these classes, convinced that these decisions will have a direct and lasting impact on the learning conditions of children and on the quality of the public education service in Sète.”
Pétition, mails, courriers…
This Tuesday, the Social Board of Directors of the Montpellier Academy will decide on the adjustment of the school map. For the Hérault department, around twenty primary school classes are affected by closures.
As a sign of protest, parents of Sète schoolchildren have taken several actions in recent days. A paper and online petition collected more than 670 signatures. Letters were sent to the National Education Inspector, “restés à ce jour sans réponse”. Nearly a hundred letters written by families were sent to the Academic Director of National Education Services.
Parents specify that several schools will be closed on Tuesday. “Michelet and Renaissance will be closed. Arago should have been too, before an email informed us that finally, two replacements had been found for the two absent teachers”, let the parents of the students know, surprised by such timing.
Substitutions “out of the hatâ€
“You should know that replacements in the Sète sector are never guaranteed and are often announced at the last minute. There, while we are fighting together, teachers and parents, to guarantee the best possible learning conditions for our children, the inspector manages to find two, maybe three substitutes to prevent the closure of a school due to strike.”
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, a delegation of parents will be received by the mayor of Sète Hervé Marquès. “We hope to be able to count on their support in this mobilization, as the consequences of these closures would be serious for the city center and for the children who go to school there.” Des parents d’élèves qui, en outre, s’inquiètent de “the place given to local public schools, equal opportunities and the conditions necessary to allow each child to succeed”.
