Photo: Henrique Ferreira | Unsplash
In 2004, Maxence Arcy's family moved to a poor suburb of Toulouse, France's fourth largest city, whose catchment schools had the region's worst educational record. But in 2017, local authorities closed those schools, and bussed the 1,140 pupils aged 11 to 15 to high-achieving colleges (the equivalent of US middle school) downtown. "There are districts in Toulouse with 90 or 95% immigrant populations," says Georges Mric, president of the Haute-Garonne region. "They are very poor and opportunities are hard to come by." Five years after the 56 million project began, the dropout rate for estate students taking France's national diploma dropped from 50% to less than 6%. Grades rose by nearly 15%. Two new schools have been built away from the estates' traditional catchment areas, ensuring permanent social mixing.Several other French cities and towns are looking to launch their own initiatives.
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