Rooms for alternative learning

 

About the project 

For ten years our school, the Freie Schule Wolterdorf (Free School of Woltersdorf), has offered the opportunity of choosing a progressive primary school to families living in the south-eastern suburbs of Berlin. It was founded by dedicated parents who followed their conviction that children need an appreciative and individualised setting for their development. 

Right from the beginning, we have been struggling with a shortage of space. We solved many of our problems creatively but have now reached and exceeded the limit of our tolerance. We urgently need more space! 81 children are learning in our rented rooms which only just meet the legally-required minimum. Many of our rooms are used for several purposes. Thus, our teaching rooms for class 4 to 6 are used for teaching, eating, group-activities and after-school care. An assembly room for all students does not even exist.  Physical Education is taught outside or in a tent. We want to change this! We need a school with enough rooms, and we would like to meet the constantly growing demand for self-determined learning. 

It is our goal to open a new school (building) offering enough space for self-determined learning for 120 children by August 1st, 2021.  Our school should be permitted to grow! More and more people are looking for an alternative to lockstep learning which we and other progressive schools provide. We are also planning to open an affiliated day-care centre for 55 children. This way, families can choose our progressive concept early on. 

We cannot stay on the current site or we would have to downsize. But a reduction of school places contradicts the need for such and would not be economically viable. We, therefore, believe in our goal and ask kindly everyone who want to give their children a self-determined way of learning to support us. 

For 430,000 € we could buy and develop a suitable plot. 340,000 € have already been raised. Each day-care or school place costs 25,000 € to create. Half of the latter will be covered by loans. Thus, the funding for 90 places is practically secured. For the remaining 85 places, 2,15,000 € are needed. We have been applying for grants but cannot expect to cover all costs this way. That is why we would like to raise 90,000 € for the plot and enough money for at least ten school or day-care places! Every donation is an important step towards implementing our future-oriented project. Please help us achieve our goal – donate now!