About Us

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Published: 22 March 2011 22 March 2011

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The Parents’ Association of the European School Frankfurt is the formal voice of parents with children at the school. We represent the interests of all ESF children, without discrimination. Our prime aim is to secure a happy and healthy learning environment in which they can thrive, and realise their full academic potential.

Our Parents’ Association is a registered non-profit organisation, founded by a General Assembly held on 24 June 2002, which also adopted the statute providing the basic framework in which we work. An elected Board is responsible for managing PA affairs. To become a member, please use the Application for Membership form.

What do we do?

Represent parents

We speak for their needs and interests at two main levels. In Frankfurt, we are present at meetings of the Administration Board, which determines how the school functions on a daily basis. Parents also have their say on the Pedagogical Committees, which set the tone for the teaching work. In Brussels, at the heart of the European School system, we are members of Interparents. This is the umbrella organisation which represents the Parents’ Associations of all 12 European Schools on the ultimate Board of Governors.

Certain activities of the PA are only available to members. To join the PA, please complete the Application for Membership form.

Please note that we cannot comment or advise on school admissions. Please contact the ESF Secretariat with any such enquiries.

After-school care and holiday activities

The Parents’ Association though its wholly owned subsidiary EuroKids gGmbH organises childminding/homework supervision, extracurricular activities, holiday camps and school buses for all ESF pupils to take the burden off working parents.

Events

The Parents’ Association organises several events during the school year, such as the Christmas Bazaar, the summer event, and the Primary Disco. More ideas are planned, for fun and fund-raising purposes!

Improvements to the Library

The Parents’ Association works with the school to improve our libraries. PA volunteers did an enormous amount of work setting up the primary library.

In addition, we organise readings in the primary library by fantastic children’s authors.

Student Exchanges: European Schools Mobility Programmes

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Published: 11 March 2011 11 March 2011

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European schools offer the possibility of hosting other students as well as supporting their students to visit other schools. Both can take place as real exchanges - visit and return visit - or as one-way visits. 

European Schools' Parents' Associations run an informal student exchange network called Intercambio, to facilitate student exchanges between schools. But this only works if families are willing to take on exchange students. Even if your child is not in the same grade or section, you will help a lot by hosting a student!

If your child(ren) would like to participate in the school mobility programmes please read the following information carefully.

ESF Students eligible to participate in an exchange

Mobility programmes take place regularly within the 1^st semester of S5. However, if there are justified reasons, the 1^st semester of S4 is also possible.

• The mobility programme gives to students currently in year 4 the possibility to spend the whole 1^st Semester of year 5 in another European school or an accredited European school, and vice versa.  Students can participate in an exchange programme only during the entire first term, from September to December until the S5 exams (usually in December). S4 students should submit their application form to the Secondary School Deputy Director in their year 4 but no later than the 31st January; requests received thereafter will be processed on a best effort basis.
• Where justified, the mobility programme gives to students currently in year 3 the possibility to spend the five-six weeks in the 1^st Semester of year 4 in another European school or an accredited European school, and vice versa. The exchange programme of students in year 4 will be discretionally considered by the school director. This application should be submitted by the pupils in their year 3 but no later than 31^st

How to request an exchange

The permission to participate in the student exchange program depends to a great extent on a) the student's academic performance, and b) the availability of the student’s subject choices in the host school. However, many schools have established their own rules to the students’ mobility: some schools accept only mutual exchange – the families host the students mutually; some schools limit the number of incoming and outgoing students (it should be equal); some schools accept only the whole semester exchange and give the opportunity only to S5 students.

First, parents need to formally request the exchange (e.g. via e-mail) to both:

• The ESF Secondary Deputy Director Ms Alexandra Werani - alexandra.werani(at)eursc.eu
• Mr Antonio Piccinellis pedagogical advisor for S4 - antonio.piccinelli(at)eursc.eu andSecond, the Secondary Deputy Director, in collaboration with the pedagogical advisor:

• Will look up the student's subject combination and contact the host school to see if the exchange is possible. This process can take some time so should you have any questions about how the application is proceeding, you may contact the pedagogical advisor directly.

Third, once the host school has decided whether it is possible to host the new student or not:

• The ESF pedagogical advisor will inform parents and students and if positive, parents will begin the search for a host family (see below).

Finding a Host Family

Parents, once you have received confirmation about the host school, you need to start organising the exchange early and get your child(ren) to prepare a one-page introduction letter in English, ideally in the host country language as well (with or without a photo). Don’t forget to include contact information, such as student e-mail, parents full contact details.

• For “outgoing” students looking for host family abroad, the ESF Parents' Association, if requested to do so, will distribute this information to the local Parents’ Association who will pass it on to their parent members. For more information on student exchange’s rules and procedures of other European Schools, please visit the website of the Parent Association’s school your child(ren) will be visiting. The exchange coordinators’ contact details are usually listed on the latter; in addition you are strongly encouraged to visit the host European school website for more specific information.
• For “incoming” students seeking a host family in Frankfurt, the ESF Parents' Association will publish on its website, accessible to logged-in members only, students’ details and their motivation letter, if formally authorisedby the students’ parents.
  The Parents Associations of both schools coordinate the requests, using the regular channels of communication through the respective Parents Association and the relevant class representatives. 

General information about the role of the host Family

The host family looks after the student during the exchange. The language spoken at home is the L2 or L3 of the visiting pupil so that the exchange pupils can be encouraged to practice in a family environment. The host family is the primary care parent during the exchange with regards to the pupil’s well-being. They are responsible for having a day-to-day dialogue with the student and liaise with the school, e.g. giving permission to leave school during school hours using the specific ESF permission form to this effect. The host parent informs the school via the school online contact form if the pupil is absent due to illness.

Generally speaking, the host family makes the student feel welcome, ensures that he/she settles in, practices the family’s home language or L2 and L3 if this is not the same and above all enjoys the experience.

Financial Terms and Conditions

Families are required to pay their own travel expenses (flights, train tickets etc.) to and from the host school and all school and school-related expenses (books, canteen, local transport, etc.). In addition, for incoming student, the parents' association offers a transport service. For more information check out the following link

https://www.esfparents.org/index.php/en/our-services/school-bus

In principle and in the spirit of an exchange, families host a pupil free of charge, on the understanding that the exchange family will host in return, but this only if possible.

Information pack

The following information pack was gathered to facilitate your tasks; in order to find a host family for your child in Frankfurt, or in a different city where your child will be visiting another European School, please contact the Parents' Association via esfexchange@esfparents.org. You can find more practical information following these links:

1. European School Frankfurt

• The role of the ESF PA student exchange coordinator

2.European Schools Exchange Programme

• https://forms.office.com/Pages/ShareFormPage.aspx?id=aeA505McU0OzBwsicDW6QhybjgFYhzxOvXslmkEIhZhURjBINENKSk9WSTZQMUIxMk5HQUNLWTJHVC4u&sharetoken=b7Xv6LwwN3gGZNSp7r5c
• School information for the exchange programme     

https://www.esffm.org/en/secondary/student-exchanges

3. List of European Schools and of Accredited European Schools

How to contact us

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Published: 13 March 2011 13 March 2011

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Education Councils & ESF 2022 PISA Report

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Published: 01 March 2011 01 March 2011

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Update : 11.02.2025

The following parents represent the sections of the School

Role

The Education Council Representatives co-operate with the class reps of their section, to address potential issues and to disseminate information of a pedagogical nature. They assist the PA Board in adopting its stance on pedagogical matters in order for it to fully play its role as a member of the School’s Admin Board, the School’s Advisory Committee and Interparents. To this end, the Education Council Representatives give the Board information and expresses opinions, as required, concerning their section. Further more they may also be required to read and comment on documents transmitted to them. In this framework, they get in contact, as needed, with the School Administration, class reps of their section, teachers and/or other parent representatives in the Education Council.

Duties

The Education Council Representatives convey the views, wishes, worries, and proposals of the parents in their section to the Education Council. To this end, before each Education Council meeting, they get in touch with all class reps in their section to agree with them the matters which should be put forward at the Education Council meeting and the position they eventually plan to take on matters to be discussed. They coordinate with the representatives of other sections and with the Board, to make sure the Education Council Representatives take a coherent stance and representative stance at Education Council meetings. After every Education Council meeting, all Education Council Representatives agree the minutes of the meeting, which they send to class reps of their section and to the Board. The minutes can be requested via the contact form.

Election

According to article 8 (3) of the Statutes of the Parents’ Association (new draft), the Association’s Board decides each year, at its first meeting after the ordinary General Assembly, the area of responsibility of each Board member. In this framework, the Board nominates, among its members, the future representatives of the four sections to the School’s Primary and Secondary Education Council. The members nominated must be parents of a child attending the relevant section of the School. If more than one candidate comes forward for any position, the Board decides by simple voting majority of the members present.


In order to fill positions for which no Board members could be found and which would otherwise remain vacant, the Board assigns to one of its members the task to get in touch with the class reps of the relevant section, in order to ask them to nominate, among themselves, their representative to the Education Council. The class reps communicate to the Board the name of a representative within a month. If the class reps do not select a representative among themselves, the Board nominates, at its full discretion, a parent with at least one child in the relevant section.


A Education Council Representative continues to hold his/her post until a new representative is nominated.
Each Year, the President of the Board notifies the School Direction about the names of the Education Council Representatives.

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PISA REPORT EUROPEAN SCHOOL FRANKFURT - How ESF compares internationally in 2022