On Wednesday, June 24, the prefect, the acting vice-rector, teachers from preschool to second grade, and members of the educational support staff from the Northern Islands met at the Daniella Jeffry vocational high school for the launch of the National Education Ministry's new "2026-2030 Reading Plan." The objective: to adapt reading and French language learning to the multilingual realities of the territory.
Already tested for more than two years in Mayotte and French Guiana, where it has enabled a concrete improvement in the level of French of the students, this program will be deployed from the start of the school year in September in the Northern Islands, in particular thanks to two new textbooks intended for CP and CE1 classes.
“We can’t teach reading here the way it’s taught in mainland France,” explains Fanny Giausseran, acting vice-rector. In a territory where children often speak Saint Martin English, Creole, or Spanish as their mother tongue, teaching methods must be adapted and teachers trained. “The clearer it is for the teacher, the better it will be for the students,” emphasizes Isabelle Goubier, a trainer from Paris and creator of one of the textbooks soon to be used in classrooms.
80% of students have reading difficulties in CM2
The figures illustrate the scale of the challenge. In 2024, in mainland France, nearly 30% of fifth-grade students had difficulties reading and understanding simple texts. In the academy to which Saint-Martin belongs, this rate is estimated to reach around 80%, according to the acting deputy rector.
The program also aims to promote and recognize students' bilingualism from the earliest years of schooling. The training concluded on Monday, June 29th, having covered learning at each level of the first cycle, and will continue via videoconferences in the fall to address teachers' practical questions, particularly regarding the new textbooks. _DR
