Parents have not yet taught their child to count, and they are already wondering how their school district inspector counts. It’s quite simple: in a school with 223 blond heads over the age of three, there is a shortfall of about a dozen in the same age group for the school district inspection to open an additional class. There should be a total of 235 students in the school. However, by counting only the students over three years old, there are 223. By counting those who are younger, there would then be enough students to open this new class. “The Jean Macé nursery school has the highest class sizes” (29 students per class) willingly acknowledges inspector Pierre Judenne.
“It’s a question of fairness with the other nursery schools in the district,” retorts Pierre Judenne, school district inspector, to Nathalie Chevalier, president of the FCPE and a parent, who is outraged by the consequences of the lack of resources: “I do not understand why the administration does not consider children under two years as individuals in their own right.”
Brigitte Ferrari, the president of the neighborhood council, announced that she supported the request for opening but would not participate in the parental demonstrations. Until Thursday, the date of the academic decision which has very little chance of meeting the demands, a parents’ presence will be maintained in the school yard.
Nathalie Chevalier confides that parents’ exasperation is serious because the demand had been made a year earlier. This is why a demonstration is being considered in case of a negative response. The final decision of the school district inspector will fall on Thursday, but the chances of it meeting the parents’ demand are minimal.
