15 new schools part of the Vienna Education Promise – 37 schools in total
Vienna (OTS) – The Vienna educational promise is an innovative program for the independent development of compulsory schools in Vienna. It is part of the education offensive of the education city councilor and deputy mayor Christoph Wiederkehr. Through the program, schools receive individual support that is tailored to their school location. This enables the best possible, comprehensive and individual support for participating schools.
City Councilor for Education Christoph Wiederkehr emphasizes: “The Vienna Education Promise is an innovative program for the independent development of Vienna’s compulsory schools with different challenges and strengthens school management. What the participating school wants to develop or change is decided by itself and is worked out together with external experts – such as school development consultants. This means that each school sets its own goals.”
The new participating schools:
The schools according to: district – street – school type
- 3 – Erdbergstraße 76 – VS
- 3 – Hörnesgasse 12 – MS
- 6 – Sonnenuhrgasse 3-5 – VS
- 7 – Neustiftgasse 98-102 – MS
- 10 – Keplerplatz 7 – VS
- 10 – Wendstattgasse 3 – MS
- 11 – Braunhubergasse 3 – VS
- 11 – Medwedweg 18 – MS
- 11 – Molitorgasse 11 – VS
- 14 – Lortzinggasse 2 – MS
- 17 – Halirschgasse 25 – VS
- 17 – Rötzergasse 2-4 – VS
- 17 – Wichtelgasse 67 – VS
- 18 – Anastasius-Grün-Gasse 10 – IS
- 23 – Prückelmayrgasse 6, currently pA Breitenfurter Straße 170 – VS
The program runs for 4 semesters and participation in the program is voluntary.
What has happened so far at the 22 schools in the first and second rounds
The Vienna Education Promise strengthens school management. School management therefore received networking opportunities, tailor-made workshops and accompanying coaching. In addition, the Vienna Education Promise supports schools in achieving their own specific goals. “The special thing about the Vienna Education Promise is that the project team continually optimizes the offerings for the schools. This reduces the burden on teachers’ challenging everyday work,” emphasizes project manager Petra Loinger.
For example, a school plans to implement interdisciplinary teaching in order to connect the learning subjects for the students and strengthen the teamwork of the teachers. Or a school realizes that it is having difficulty retaining teachers at the school long-term. A mentoring program can be introduced here. This means that one teacher with a lot of experience supports each new teacher who comes to the school.
A school in the 15th district has set itself the goal of improving cooperation between parents and school. This can be achieved, for example, by creating a concept for a parents’ café (regular exchange between parents and teachers) or by inviting parents to class in order to gain insights into the everyday lives of their children and the teachers.
A school in the 5th district aims to introduce a process for new teachers to give them a stress-free start to their teaching career at the school and thereby keep them at the school in the long term. The individual strengths of the new teachers should also be taken into account. This contributes to motivation.
The focus of the Vienna Education Promise is on the process of school development and its advice. The process serves the goal of developing as a school towards a learning organization. The main responsibility for achieving this goal lies with the school itself. The Vienna Educational Promise also relies on professional networking, exchange and reflection opportunities. Educators become more professional through targeted training courses and schools become more attractive through the design of open spaces in particular. “All of this serves to ensure that students experience appreciation and are motivated to learn,” says the project manager, Petra Loinger.
What already happened at the 15 schools in the third round
The information and introductory day for interested schools for the third round took place at the end of May 2024. In addition to detailed information about the project, we worked together on the topic of school development. Some feedback from school administrators after the introductory day: “I immediately felt picked up, I was approached in a solution-oriented manner, I was taken seriously and experienced appreciation, which is often missing.” and “I still have three years until retirement, and I think so me “Wow – I would like to be there to work on the school site-specific goals.”
outlook
The two-day kick-off event with the 15 schools of the third round takes place outside Vienna at the end of August. School management, 3 educators from each school location, Vienna Education Promise consultants and the project team are working specifically on their location-specific school development process.
Starting in the fall, school management will start executive coaching and begin working with external consultants to specify their goals and measures for the next two school years. Goals that are tailored to the circumstances and needs of your location include:
- Onboarding new teachers
- Mutual collegial observation of lessons
- Conflict resolution, violence prevention & non-violent communication in everyday school life
- Competence-oriented, interdisciplinary teaching
- Improving collaboration between leisure educators and teaching staff
Further information at: https://bildungsversprechen.wien.gv.at/
Questions & Contact:
Stephan Maier
Media spokesperson Vice Mayor Wiederkehr
stephan.maier@wien.gv.at
Tel.: +43 1 4000 83213