Marianne Salem is the Executive Director of the Lake Leman International School (LLIS) in Morges, Vaud. Founded in 2011, the school offers education to students aged between 3 and 11, with flexible teaching that matches each student's needs and a strong focus on community engagement for both pupils and their families.
In order to accommodate both international and local students, LLIS prioritises teaching of the French language. The co-education of international and local students in the same school has a very positive impact on the integration of international students into the local community and fosters the friendship between Swiss families and families from abroad.
Lake Leman International School, www.llis.ch
Over the years, international schools have come under harsh criticism as not providing the best learning experience. These schools have been seen as a place where students who struggle with education are sent, or as isolated bubbles outside the community where non-native families become an insular micro-community. However, a new kind of international school is changing that view by taking a new approach to teaching. From community engagement to non-standardised teaching, at Lake Leman International School (LLIS) our students get the opportunity to develop their individual skills and create a personal leaning experience for themselves.
One of the traditional barriers faced at international schools is that of community integration and student-community engagement. The schools are fantastic centres of learning for students of all cultures and nationalities, but typically, these learning environments have been very self-centric. Services used by the students and their parents are often available on the school site, and with lots of young people to mix with at the school too, this has often led to international schools becoming quite isolated. Students often only mix with staff, other students and their families, and parents tend to socialise with each other. While this is a supportive and safe environment, it also presents issues with the wider community. Are these schools doing enough to integrate with local people?
