This Monday, March 4, Mahdi Tamene, the director of national education services in Charente-Maritime, announced to the teachers' organizations his proposals for the 2024-2025 school map based on the figures.
42,266 students (16,026 in nursery school and 29,772 in elementary school), i.e. 609 fewer than at the previous school year, are expected to present themselves at the school gates.
This confirms the continued demographic decline for several years.
Indeed, Charente-Maritime saw its number of schoolchildren drop between 2017 and 2023 with 3,804 fewer students.
This is often the case where real estate prices often do not allow the installation of young couples with children.
As for teachers, there are 2,824.25 to date.
At the start of the school year, there will be 21 fewer full-time equivalents.
Fifteen openings are planned, especially in the north of the department in La Rochelle, Châtelaillon, Rochefort, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Saintes and Le Chapus.
53 closures are observed in a number of RPI (interpedagogical groups) in the cantons of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Saintes, Jonzac and Royan.
The case of class splitting
Among the objectives of Dasen 17: the continuation of the doubling of classes in the Grande section nursery, CP and CE1 and the capping of GS, CP and CE1 classes at 24 students excluding priority education where classes should not exceed 20 children.
In a press release, the teachers' union SNUipp-FSU 17 expressed its disapproval of class splitting.
“We are sorry to have to accept that, to avoid class openings, we are proposing to hold GS-CP classes almost everywhere.
If this option were not extended and sometimes even made permanent, we could accept it but we must not lose sight of the fact that we are straddling 2 schools, between 2 learning cycles, and symbolically, between "kindergarten and the big school.”
And that’s why we must not make it systematic!
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An opinion shared by the FCPE 17 parents’ federation.
“At the end of the Grande section, the students look forward to the big school,” explains Serge Maupouet, the president.
In Rochefort-Guérineau, which does not appear in the list, a merger is planned.
The parents asked to be received by the National Education services.
» Mobilized parents, there will be others in the municipalities concerned, provides for FCPE 17. These proposals should be adopted or amended by the Departmental Council of National Education on March 18.