Q: Your team started out facilitating summer camps, what was your ‘why’ for establishing Le Sallay International Academy?

The idea behind the summer educational camp Marabou was to show children that learning even the most traditional things, like Mathematics, can be exciting and fun. Mathematics was in fact at the core of our idea, but very soon we expanded it to a wider range of topics from classical music and pop culture to genetics and astronomy. And it was actually the feedback from our participants that inspired the creation of Le Sallay Academy: it turned out that as far as the children were concerned, their middle schools were not up to par, and wouldn’t it be just great if they were more like Marabou? So we couldn’t but oblige :)

Q: Could you tell us about the blended learning model of Le Sallay International Academy?

The school year is divided into trimesters, each of them offering an in-person and a distance learning component. In a typical trimester, our students will travel to our campus in France for three weeks of classroom learning and socializing, and then study from home for eight weeks. The face-to-face sessions are held at the Chateau Le Sallay in Burgundy, France. They combine classes with games and activities focusing on improving socialization, interpersonal communication, and emotional self-regulation.

Distance learning bit lasts eight weeks, and each day a student will have 5-6 highly interactive classes, led by an international team of highly-qualified teachers fluent in virtual education. Our school does not have classes with fixed rosters. Students of different ages study in small 4-7 person groups, and every student has an individual learning plan that takes into account their education goals.


Q: How have you found the model to be inclusive for students with diverse learning needs?

It is important to note that we don’t divide students into those who have “diverse learning needs” and those who don’t. Everyone has needs, and it is our responsibility as a school, to create an inclusive atmosphere that would make everyone feel comfortable. And that was one of our objectives from the very start.

The effectiveness of our approach roots in the flexibility of the blended learning model: each student has an individualized study plan, their online schedule is tailored to their personal preferences, they can study in the comfort of their own home, in the audio and visual environment that is not disturbing, and hence they focus better, get to a higher level of motivation that in turn leads them to a higher level of academic achievement. To give a couple of examples why blended learning supports children so well: dyslexic children can benefit from using online technologies to help them to read; for children on the autistic spectre it makes a great difference to be able to in a familiar environment and not having to make an extra effort to block out the intruding distractions; ADHD children have fewer restrictions re their behavior during classes and a free to sit, stand and move around as they like.

On-site sessions are run under the supervision of experienced counsellors and psychologists whose job is to look after the emotional comfort of individual students as well as to monitor the group dynamics. This involves working on group and interpersonal relations, providing psychological comfort and support to students who are away from home through various daily activities as well as group or individual conversations.

It is often the case that full-time schooling is so demanding in terms of time pupils are required to spend together, that there is not much space left for either academic pursuits or management of one’s socio-emotional well-being. Our model gives one the experience of boarding and communal life without the stress of long-time separation with your family, and also a chance to study in the comfort of your own home remaining a part of the school community.


Q: What have been some of your proudest achievements in relation to inclusion and wellbeing, and what has the impact been?

We are a relatively new school, but even in this short time, we can testify that all children (as in 100%) who have spent two or more years with us have enormously progressed both academically and emotionally. To give a couple of examples: a student who joined us a couple of years ago and was at first so shy that he actually avoided engaging in conversations has grown to be one of the most popular students who also demonstrates an impressive academic record - that’s a proud achievement!

Another student was very socially engaged, but academically, she was motivated just enough to do the minimum required to stay at the school. Today, she claims she enjoys intellectual challenges and her genuine interest in academic matters is something we are very proud of.


Q: What have been some of the challenges that you have faced, and how have you tried to overcome them?

The school was launched in 2019, and I don’t think we’ve had a year that would be free of this or that force-majeure. First, COVID and post-COVID, and now the war conflict in Ukraine… On the one hand, we were faced with the logistical challenge of organizing on-site sessions, a key element in our student care, and on the other – we had to quickly develop a virtual version of our socio-emotional practices that would step in for those unable to join in-person.

In 2019-2020, when COVID made it next to impossible to travel, we ran two on-site sessions in parallel, in Europe, and in the US, and we developed a special online program to ensure equal involvement of students from both sides of the Atlantic.

We designed a special online game where in order to win, one had to interact with students on the other continent and collect missing information; we held a hybrid conference that boosted the students’ curiosity towards each other; we celebrated birthdays and graduations and created our own virtual traditions that have since helped to maintain a sense of community and companionship among our students.


Q: You have centers in France and Eastern Europe, and you are opening a center in the United States. How does cultural context impact your model in these locations, and what does the future look like for Le Sallay International Academy?

In Eastern European tradition, the curriculum is often split into a bigger number of separate subjects than in the Americas. For example, Literature and Language are usually taught separately (although often by the same teacher); as well as Algebra and Geometry, Biology and Chemistry. When we were setting up our Eastern European school, we had difficulty not only finding teachers who would take on teaching Math or Sciences as a whole, but also convincing parents that this approach actually works! In the end, we had to adjust our curriculum, and teach some of these subjects separately.

However, these differences do not affect our overall approach to learning which is based on developing critically important skills, such as understanding conceptual relationships, creative problem-solving, and critical thinking. We are proud of our identity as an international school, and seek to avoid focusing on any one culture or viewpoint, opting instead to welcome the traditions of many peoples and nations.

In the future, we would be happy to develop our successful model further and are open to partnerships with schools or individuals across the globe.


Q: If you were to give three top tips to schools in relation to inclusion, what would they be? What should schools think about?

1. Each student has their own individual needs that may, or may not be related to their medical condition, so don’t think people “with needs” and people “without needs”. It is your duty as a school to identify whatever needs your students may have and accommodate them.
2. Make sure this approach is shared by your teachers so that they don’t think that there is only “one special student” in the group. Explain this to students, too, so that they don’t feel that someone is “more special” than others, but rather, that they are all special.
3. If you are dealing with children with a medical condition, make sure the school psychologist is not the only one who knows about that! Provide the necessary training to teachers and teachers’ assistants to ensure adequate and thoughtful reactions to potentially difficult situations.