The Questions
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What is the name of the school? | Demokratische Schule X | |
What is the address of the school? | Ruppiner Chaussee 211, 13503 Berlin, Germany | |
School’s phone number and website? | +49 30 60 922 621, www.demokratische-schule-x.de | |
School’s EUDEC contact person and e-mail? | Martin Wilke | |
What is the legal status of the school? | genehmigte Ersatzschule, school type “Gemeinschaftsschule” | |
When was the school founded? | 1st of December 2010 | |
How many students are there? | 100 (as of July 2024) | |
Which student age groups are there? | currently 6-17 | |
How many (full-time equivalent) staff members? | 17 (as of March 2024, all part-time) | |
How many school hours per day and week? | The school is open for 9.5 hours on 3 days per week and for 8.5 hours on two days per week. Studens have to be there for 25 hours per week. | |
Interested in hosting interns? | yes | |
Interested in the EUDEC Diploma? | yes, we are using it | |
Interested in the EUDEC exchange program? | yes | |
Does applicable law allow your school to follow the EUDEC definition of democratic education? | yes | We even refer to the IDEC2005 declaration in the by-laws of the association that is running the school (Trägerverein). |
Do students have free choice of whether or not to participate in scholastic and other activities? | yes | |
Can students easily initiate and suggest scholastic and other activities? | yes, they can | |
Can students offer, lead and run scholastic and other activities? | yes | |
Can students ‘vote’ on the school’s rules? | yes | They can do that in the School Meeting. |
Can students ‘vote’ on the consequences of breaking rules? | yes | We have a Judicial Meeting four times a week, where all judges can vote. All students an staff members can become a judge. |
Can students ‘vote’ on the use of spaces? | yes | |
Are there any compulsory activities for students? | no, with some exceptions | Well, there’s a weekly cleaning duty. And they need to come to the Judicial Meeting if there are complaints against them or if they are a witness. And there can be mandatory meetings, e.g. when something was stolen. |
Who decides on the compulsory activities and who must participate? | School Meeting can make rules, but it can’t decide to introduce compulsory learning (that would be against the by-laws). | |
Can students ‘vote’ on accepting and expelling other students? | yes | For accepting new students there is an admissions committee (2 students, 2 staff members and 2 parents, but parents can’t vote). They can decide when they have a consensus. Otherwise the decision goes to the School Meeting. School Meeting can decide on expelling students. |
Can students be involved in the hiring and firing of staff members, including educational staff? | yes | Each new staff member and each intern needs the approval of a majority of those who participate in the vote. At the end of every school year students and staff members vote on each staff member whether they are allowed to work at the school next school year. |
Can students and staff equally participate in the decision making process? | yes | Each student and each staff member has an equal vote in the School Meeting. |
Does your school need to meet any curriculum imposed from outside of the school? | no | |
How is student performance and progress monitored and graded? | no grades | There are no grades. The student’s mentor reflects and makes a documentation. At the end of the school year, the students can get a letter from their mentor, if they want to get one. |
Can students ‘vote’ on managing and deciding the budget? | yes | They can do that in the School Meeting which has its own budget. Students can also join the association that is running the school (Trägerverein) that votes on the school’s budget in its yearly assembly of members. |
Can students ‘vote’ on the infrastructure of the school? | yes | |
Can students ‘vote’ on the management structure of the school? | yes |
School Description
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How often do school meetings take place? | two times per week | |
Which decision making bodies are there? | The school meeting. It delegates some things to committees. | |
Who decides who is in which decision making body? | The by-laws of the association running the school (Trägerverein) say that the school meeting is made up of all students and staff members. The school meeting decides on the structure of school committees. | |
What is the parents’ role in school life? | They help the school with some problems but not more. Some parents accompany school trips. Occasionally, a parent offers a project or an activity in school, but this requires approval of the school meeting. | |
What is the parents’ role in decision making? | They have no vote in the school meeting. But two representatives can attend the school meeting. Parents can join the association, some parents are in the board of the association. | |
Who is financially and legally responsible for your school? | the board of the association | |
Who makes financial and legal decisions? | Every year the assembly of members of the association decides on the school’s budget. The board is responsible for deciding the details. | |
What is the school building like? | a sandwich (We have rented the ground floor and the 2nd floor but not 1st floor.) To get an impression of the building you should see some pictures. | |
Is your school (partially or fully) a boarding school? | no | |
From how far do most students come from? | 10-30 km (students come from all over Berlin) | |
In what kind of area is the school located? | It is near a huge forest and in a calm and nice area. It is also near the S-Bahn (urban train). | |
How is the school funded? | state funding and tuition fees | |
Can students get a degree/diploma? | No. But they can do external exams und we help them in preparing for that. | |
Is there any curriculum planning? | We make a day-offer-plan that is voluntary. |