In Sarthe, more than 98,000 students are returning to school this week, from kindergarten to bac +2. Changes in middle school, lack of teachers, after-school activities… We take stock of the new features and projects underway for this 2024-2025 school year.
Establishment of “needs groups”
At college, there are changes this year for 6th and 5th grade studentsas well as for their teachers. The controversial measure of “needs groups”, formerly called “level groups“, comes into force.”This is not just a semantic change. We are really in the idea of a group of needs. In French and mathematics, students will be in a group, with smaller numbers, to allow teachers to best meet their needs,” explains Dominique Poglio, academic director of Sarthe.
“Flexibility” was given to teachers in Sarthe colleges to form these “needs groups” for this new school year.Primary and secondary school teachers are connected and work together to form these groups. There are also the national assessmentswhich will take place in a few days, and which will provide information on the needs of students in French and mathematics“, continues Dominique Poglio.
Teachers at the meeting
This summer, several unions warned of a shortage of teachers, more than 1,500 positions not filled this year in the primary school teacher competitions. However, the management of the departmental services of national education of Sarthe (DSDEN) assures that there will be a teacher in front of each class this week of the start of the school year.
“For the start of the school year and in the days to come, there will be a teacher in each class. Afterwards, there are always situations that can be discovered overnight, such as sick leave. To anticipate, we have done a lot of work: there are replacement brigades in the first and second degrees. In the second degree, there was a recruitment effort ofteachers scheduled for replacementand there is also a short-term replacement device,” explains the academic director of Sarthe.
Focus on after-school activities
“In addition to the resumption of classes, there are also the returns of the canteen, daycare, study… Everything that is extracurricular. In Le Mans, the city is paying particular attention to this and wants to strengthen it.”In the morning, 620 nursery and primary school pupils are welcomed. In the evening, more than 600 children as well. We want to extend the supervision within the school framework in general. Since school time is very short, we want to ensure thataccompany children over a longer period of time. So that everything does not rest on National Education, but also to fight against academic failure” explains Stéphane Le Foll, mayor of Le Mans.
“Last year, we did a test on study time at the Épau school. It was…individualized support with university students. This year, we are continuing and we are even going to strengthen this support with more students. It is help with homework, learning to read for example.“, continues Cécile Leroux, deputy mayor of Le Mans in charge of educational policy, schools and school life. In total, in the capital of Sarthe, around 10,500 students are welcomed in nursery and elementary schools.