Mensagem do Diretor da AEFE

Caros pais, infelizmente não temos a tradução em português da mensagem do Diretor da AEFE, se desejarem,  neste link existe a tradução também em espanhol, https://www.aefe.fr/vie-du-reseau/toute-lactualite/message-du-directeur-de-laefe-aux-communautes-scolaires-des-lycees-francais-du-monde-13-mars-2020 

Translation of the message in English

Ladies and Gentlemen, 
Dear Students,
 
For the past two months, the Agency for French Education Overseas (AEFE) has been working tirelessly in managing both the Coronavirus Crisis and its consequences on the 522 schools in our network.

Since the beginning of this unprecedented health crisis, the Agency has focused on two priorities :

First and foremost, the safety and health of our students, personnel, and their families. Our concern was that our schools not become vectors of introduction and dissemination of the virus in their host countries.
 Next, ensuring the continuation of teaching for students whose schools have been closed. At the time of speaking, 224 schools and high schools have been temporarily closed, some in Asia unfortunately for two months already.

Jean-Yves Le Drian French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs has requested the set-up of a certain number of measures to be taken following the advice of the Crisis and Support Cell, the Globalisation Directorate of the Ministry, and French Ambassadors throughout the world. These measures are to be adaptable to circumstances and are by nature subject to change.

The main measures are the following :

Wherever it has been deemed necessary, the ambassadors, with whom we have been in contact, have decided to close schools either at the request of local authorities as part of a nationwide measure applicable to all the schools, or due to suspected or confirmed cases (thankfully they have been very rare) in a school community. We have always had a zero-risk policy when it comes to our schools and we will continue to maintain this vigorously.
Elsewhere when a school has remained open, we have asked the teams to reinforce preventative measures which must be followed by all to the highest degree. As a reminder, here are some simple steps to protect yourself and others from the Coronavirus :

Wash your hands regularly – Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue – Use single-use tissues – Greet people without shaking hands or hugging and kissing.

 We have also asked all schools in the absence of guidance from local authorities to demand that staff or students coming from a region where the virus is active to self-isolate, as requested by the French Health Ministry. From today, these rules are valid for all students and personnel coming back from France, regardless of the region. 
 We have being reducing the movement of people within our global network, first with those travelling within Asia and to Asia, then progressively reducing the numbers of those travelling in other regions. As of today, all mobility has been cancelled : student exchange programmes and seminars, training courses for teachers, the missions of inspectors.. All major events which were planned for the month of June, and  which each one of us were looking forward to, events which would have had a unique dimension, in the context of the celebration for the thirtieth anniversary since the founding of the agency, have been cancelled : the concert of the orchestra of the French secondary schools in the world, budding ambassadors’ debates, the international youth games. Only the awards ceremony for  scholarships of excellence to be held in Sciences Po (Institute of Political Science) in the month of June is still timetabled for the moment. Let me make a point in reference to the ADN school exchange programme which involves secondary school students throughout the network, all of the former which have not yet taken place have been postponed. In relation to students who have already joined their host families, I have asked the headmasters of the schools taking part,  to contact the family of origin to check whether they want to continue with the exchange or prefer to end it ahead of time.

Nonetheless, the Agency, the state’s operator in charge of the smooth running of the entire network, has from the outset been committed to  assuring continued pedagogical support and remote teaching in order to deal with the physical closure of schools. Since 4 February, with the support of the CNED (our national distance learning institute), we have set up teaching modules, in cooperation with the management teams and teachers of those schools which have been closed in Asia, in order to ensure, as much as possible, that our pupils have the opportunity to continue studying.

These measures have been implemented in some schools  for eight weeks  now, and last week, we  sent all the leadership  teams of the 522  schools a vade mecum  to enable them to put it in place as quickly as possible if their school was to close.

We continue to work continuously on its improvement, being attentive to all the comments and requests made.  As facts have sadly shown, it is a long-term strategy that we need to build.

I wish to salute  the amazing work and involvement of all the professionals involved who met this challenge in such a short period of time, and thank them warmly: teachers, leadership teams, expatriate teacher-trainers  of the AEFE whose missions have been completely redirected towards supporting their colleagues, inspectors from the National Education and their  assistants (CPAIEN) all working in the 16 areas of the AEFE network, and the  entire pedagogical service of the AEFE. Many thanks  to the CNED as well  (National Distance Learning Center) for their responsiveness.
 
 We are aware of the complexity of this new situation for families and we are doing our utmost to take this into account. The pedagogical teams, of the high schools your children attend, are there to accompany you to implement the necessary measures and also to explain what is recommended for your child, in an e-learning context.  We are conscious of the fact that these measures will never replace a classroom environment and direct contact with teachers.
 
I am also aware of the economic impact this crisis has on households, be it through the additional costs related to childcare or whether incomes are directly affected. With regard to schools in direct management of the Agency, I have given instructions to the administrative and financial directors to carefully and kindly examine all requests that would be made by any family facing financial difficulties. We must maintain tuition fees as teachers and school staff are still at work; in addition, we cannot in any way take the risk of weakening your school, as it will have to be able to resume its activity as quickly and durably as possible. As far as schools in direct management are concerned, we will study all possibilities of deferring payments to help families. Additional costs such as school transport, canteen or extra-curricular activities will be invoiced according to the service actually provided.

The Agency is in contact with the parents ́representatives and the school management committees to closely examine the needs expressed by the families and the contracted and partner schools.

Finally, I would like to say a word to our dear students.

You are today, with your families, with your teachers, with all of us, immersed in an unprecedented situation which perhaps worries you and that is quite understandable. Together with your parents, we are doing and will do everything possible to help you cope with it.

As you know, the French education system which we hold so dear, and to which the commitment of our authorities is total, is not only an education based on academic excellence. It is also an education that bears strong values to help you become the enlightened citizens that the world to come needs, wherever you are. Among these values are critical thinking skills to help you detect what is true and what is fake, in a period of over-information and sometimes misinformation; there is solidarity among all and with all; and there is a sense of responsibility towards oneself and towards others.

Today, whether you are still very young, enrolled in kindergarten or primary school, middle school or soon, almost an adult ,in high school, I know that you will demonstrate, each in your own special way, your attachment to these values. However, never hesitate to confide in your parents or teachers about the difficulties you encounter or the questions that beset you. They are legitimate and be sure we are all here for you.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Students,

Last night, the President of the French Republic called on each and every one of us to take responsibility and behave civic-mindedly to face this unprecedented crisis that we will have to deal with for many more weeks. For several weeks, all the administration services have been getting ready to ensure the continuation of the public service, knowing all too well that their functioning will be disrupted because of the public health measures, essential to the health of all personnel, that need to be set up. This is also true for the entire cultural and educational network abroad managed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The Agency for French Education Overseas (AEFE) is now ready to continue supporting the entire network in the coming weeks. Some of its personnel will, however, have to stay home to protect themselves from the risks of illness. A large part of the personnel will go into teleworking to participate in the collective effort in France to curb the spread of the disease. We will therefore have to reorganize our work and define our priorities, the support of the network being at the top of the list. Hence, I thank you for taking this into account when forwarding your requests, for they will not all be dealt with as quickly as usual.

Thank you all for your trust and commitment.

Olivier Brochet
Director of AEFE