This is a very special position, almost unique in France. Since 2016, a school mediator has been exclusively in charge of children from slums. Whether they still live in the eleven barracks identified in Montpellier and its metropolis, or whether they have since joined the transition village of La Rauze and other reception structures. They are about three hundred children from or living in these unworthy habitats in the prefecture of Hérault. Mainly Roma, but also other populations from Eastern European countries or Syria. Three hundred children to whom the rectorate tries to give the chance to access the school of the Republic. And through it, to help their integration.
“We consider that mediation is the condition sine qua non so that the children can go to school”, points out Frédéric Miquel. This academic inspector is responsible for Casnav (academic center for the education of newly arrived allophone pupils and children from itinerant families and travellers). “The results are not perfect, far from it, but this approach, supported by rector Sophie Béjean, has made it possible to fight against a form of fatalism and prejudice. Those who would like for example that the Roma culture would not predispose to go to school. There is no non-school culture. On the other hand, only mediation can help bridge the gap that may exist with these populations”.
Identify audiences, manage flows, adapt teaching… and build trust
About 70% of them follow a serious education. For the others, attendance at school is limited or insufficient. Encouraging figures nonetheless. Julien Radenez has held this post of mediator since 2016. After missions with Doctors of the World, this trilingual teacher (French, Romanian and Romani, the language of the Roma), had the ideal profile. “The associations work very effectively on the ground and we work closely with them, as with the various communities. This inter-partner dynamic is moreover one of its missions, continues Frédéric Miquel. But the fact that he is a National Education mediator gives him an institutional cap with families and additional authority. »
To promote access to the right to schooling, Julien Radenez must in particular identify the public, the projected flow and choose the best school response for the assignment of these children. Some of whom have never been to school and may need to take French courses in a foreign language. The link with families is therefore essential. As well as the monitoring and support of schooling. It is carried out in part with specialized teachers, as do the 4,000 allophone students who arrive each year in the academy (including 1,200 Ukrainians in 2022). But also, in large part, with the other students in their classes, to promote their inclusion.
“The school of the Republic is the school of all”
“The school of the Republic is the school of all, concludes Frédéric Miquel. Being on French territory means going to school as of right. This requires trust with families and the obligation to fight against school drop-out, which can be as serious as the absence of food and rights. It is a vital good. Our spirit wants to be humanist from this point of view”.