ENSR vs. International School in Lausanne vs. Public

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hello,

My wife, a Swiss native, (I am from the US) recently found out that she scored a new job in Lausanne. Our daughters, 4 and 6 yrs old, understand French, but have been living in America for all of their short lives, so whenever Nelly speaks to them in French, they reply in English...nevertheless, we expect them to make the transition to French.

We are now fully engaged in looking for school options. We have read/heard good things about both ENSR and the IS. Here are some of the issues that have come to the fore immediately; please comment and advise:

1) What is the reputation of the ENSR among the Swiss (my wife notes that, in general, private schools are held in low regard in Switz. and wonders if ENSR has been painted with this brush, especially with respect to getting into Swiss uni.)? Obviously, looking down the road a bit with this question.

2) Social integration: I have been reading threads remarking on the social isolation experienced by kids who are regarded as foreigners by Swiss children and parents. While my children are Swiss, they are likely not to be perceived that way, I imagine, given their current language ability and the fact that I am black. We are also concerned that if we choose, say, the IS that our children won't make good connections with Swiss kids, b/c the American expats tend not integrate very readily, and many return to the US.

3) Anyone with recent experiences of sending their English speaking youngsters to Swiss public school, in the Lausanne area. I know this has been addressed in other threads, but most of them are about a year old.

Thanks,

Jim

2
My experience is not recent but here is what I did and would still do. I hopeit doesn't sound too patronizing or haughty.

My main aim would be to try to keep all options open, that means keeping them fully bilingual. This is not easy and you have to be disciplined, but the pay-off is worth it.

Starting now make books, acgtion rhymes and music a big part of their lives in presents, library trips, readings etc. Computer games are useful, but the tendency is to treat it like TV as parental downtime and let them do it alone.

Seek out a good English reading, writing and math scheme, New Zealand ones may still be the best.

Get them into a local and English speaking playgroup, and preschool; form your own if need be. Being a dad is no excuse to hand this over to the wife; there are plenty of really involved or stay-at-home dads.

If you are both working get a nanny/au pair who is capable of doing this.

A US college student taking a year out to learn French would be great.

Start using the scheme, like home schooling. It must have a timetable, discipline, structure and interesting material, with lots of practical back-up. The kids will fuss when their friends are playing outside but they get used to the routine and will appreciate it later. They may be jumped up a year entering school if they can already read. Children in Swiss schools generally start school and reading later-you want to stick to the US earlier entry.

Find out what percentage of the kids from your local school go on to Gymi. If it is high send them there and continue with English at home. You can get courses on line. Start them studying towards SAT's or the Massachusetts equivalent to Regents level exams. Ages 10 to 14 will be the crunch period, this is when they are into formal learning, also when you get most discipline and adolescent problems. If you can get continue an open, honest and good relationship during these years then the future looks good. It is a time of enormous peer pressure, they must choose freinds wisely. I would continue in the Swiss Gymi, but send them home for the summer camps like at John Hopkins or Ivy League School. Try to get them to do the Baccaleureate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaureate

Also make sre that you compensate by taking them to museums,educational outings etc. If you find anyone in the family with a special interest e.g. Math, Music, Botany, Art, get them involved, to share with your child. Hire a tutor if necessary.

If you are considering an international school, visit first. Sit in on a lesson, pay special attention to the quality of English amongst the classmates. Find out how many pass the Bacc., the qualifications of the teachers, the number of students and teachers that stay longterm. Are these kids who spend only 2-3 years at anyone school? Does the school have a strong active Parent-teacher association/involvement? Ask to get all of this on paper.

Good Luck.

3
You have to keep in mind that not many people are going to start a thread with "My child has had an easy transition and has made loads of friends in Swiss school." Or if they have, it has probably attracted one or two replies which simply say "Oh that's nice!" then disappeared into internet oblivion. On a subject like this, people only report on a forum when they have had a bad experience.

As an example to tip the balance a bit the other way, I am often on the same tram as two brothers around 11-13 years old who are stacked out with little Swiss friends and are merrily chatting away in Swiss German. Sometimes their mobile phone rings and they switch back to a broad US accent to say "Yes mum, we're on our way home." or something similar. No idea what their background is but it sounds like they are expats and they seem to have slotted right in.

4
My experience is old but I was in a private high school in Lausanne for a bit less than a year.

It was Lemania high school and unfortunately the kids were a collection of rich spoiled brats. Do investigate and make sure that ENSR and IS do not cater to that clientele.

http://www.lemania.com/

In the US we tend to assume that education is better in private schools but it is (or was) not the case in Switzerland. I share your wife's concerns regarding private education.

ENSR had a good reputation (20 years ago!). I never heard of IS.

5
we moved here from ny about 3 months ago and had the same decision to make, although it would have been a real expense for us to send our 9 year old son to private school. we considered it because we wanted to do whatever was best for him, but after really considering the options we went with the public school and (for the most part) i am happy with it. it definitely took some getting used to, in terms of scheduling. the students come home for two hours for lunch, they have a half day on wednesdays and pretty much on thursdays too because after lunch they just have gym. this was odd to me because i am used to having a much more packed day and obviously much longer. the idea behind this is that the kids are completely focused on learning when in the classroom and so far my son (who had no french knowledge, just english and spanish) is doing incredible- he is in a "welcome" class, so he is concentrated on learning the language, especially for academic purposes like math and vocab and such. i was a bit pessimistic about this system but right now he is learning very quickly, and i am grateful to have him ( and sometimes his friends) home for lunch.

on the whole i would also stay away from private schools personally. i think they are quite expensive and if you will be in suisse for a long term stay, going to public school gives the kids a chance to be part of the community and learn the language in more relevant situations.

good luck and feel free to pm with any questions about our experiences!

6
I may get backlash for saying this, but it isn't so much colour prejudice that is a problem in Switzerland, but anything that smacks of foreign, especially refugee. Many Swiss adopt kids who look very different from themselves so xenophobia is not the main problem. However if you look like an Albanian,Turk...that's different. You will get some idiots that straight away associate US Afro-American kids with the inner urban ghettos that they see on TV; they can be morbidly interested in gang culture etc. and assume that you have the inside scoop. It is best to set the record straight at the outset! When I say I am from Upstate NY, many Swiss assume that I live in the Bronx. Hopefully that has changed somewhat with Obama as president.

7
I won't comment on the other subjects, but I can certainly recommend you the ENSR. It might not make sense for few people, but the school is already more than 100 years olds, so that by itself says a lot about success. In addition they have pretty good performance when it comes to get children into higher levels of education, when compared with other schools. It is not perfect, but from my experience as parent, so far I can't complain about their methods and systems.

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My child(ren) had an easy transition and made lots of friends.

Seriously, your kids will be fine. We live 10 mins from Lausanne, and my 4 yr old started a yr ago with no French at all, in a class with Swiss kids alongside Chinese, Thai, Ukranian, Albanian, black, etc. They all play happily together. My 8 yr old started with no French - his class is a little less 'culturally diverse', but there's an American, a couple of girls who speak either Spanish or Portugeuse at home (bit vague on girls, as he doesn't play with them), an Albanian, and so on. Coloured kids are not terribly common by UK/US standards, but not unusual enough to be noticable.

I have heard vague grumblings of prejudice against some Eastern European countries, but like most prejudices it's always 'except for *insert names of neighbours and their kids*, who are lovely'. I think most of it's based on reading the papers rather than personal experience. Rightly or wrongly, English is a high status language here, parents want their kids to learn it, and English-speaking families are a popular addition to a school. Consequently, I've found it a very international, very welcoming area. And the age your kids are, already understanding French - it'll be a doddle for them.

For context, I'm speaking about the villages within 5-10km west of Lausanne (Geneva direction), which is quite an affluent area - the city itself may be different.

kodokan

9
Hi Kodokan,

Just a short question after reading your post... are you talking about public school or the private ones mentioned on the thread?

I am relocating to Lausanne area and I am finding hard to find a public school that will take my 4 year old (his birthday is on 27th September). He attended King ́s College in Madrid from the age of 2 and having him at home for 8 months until next school year is disappointing (when he already identifies the letters and is able to write some simple words... ).

I do not know if I could afford a private school and I need to relocate within a month so not sure either if I have time to visit schools ...

Arrrg! Need help!

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Hi blancoi

I'm talking about public school - my kids attend the local one in our village.

Technically, as you've no doubt discovered, your son is not eligible for enfantine this year as the cut-off for turning 4 is June 30th. I understand it is possible to apply for a child to be moved up (or down) a school start year, if the parents can get a report from a specialist (bit like a child psychologist) recommending that this happens. But even then, the commune/school is not compelled to act on this - I think it's only advisory, and other issues like space in the class, gender balance, etc, will all be taken in account.

I've also not heard of anyone doing this outside of the normal August start date. By now, the class is 'gelled', and the school may be even more reluctant to put a much younger kid (also non-French speaking, I assume?) into an established social group.

Here, knowing letters is of no relevance as they're not officially taught until first grade (age 6) anyway (although my daughter's being taught to read in second yr enfantine, because her teachers are very good at developing the kids at their individual pace and she can already read at a basic level in English). What the school wants is independence, self-motivation and self-control: getting changed quickly for gym unaided, having a good attention span in group situations, being able to work unaided for long periods without constant 'that's marvellous!' feedback from an adult, being able to go on trips using several forms of public transport with only 1 or 2 adults for 20 kids, being encouraged to walk to school alone (this is usually 2nd yr enfantine rather than 1st yr).

But don't fret too much if he can't get into school. In Lausanne and the surrounding area there are loads of other groups for him to go to, with or without you: music, swimming, play sessions, expat social outings, etc. I moved over in March 2008 with my then 4 yr old, and we managed to fill the time quite easily and sociably until she started school in August.

kodokan

11
Thanks Kodokan, very good and valid points.