Securing Albstadt as an educational location

Good “living and working in Albstadt” includes securing the educational location. The future of Albstadt depends to a large extent on our ability to offer young families in particular, as well as single parents, a framework that provides a wide variety of childcare options for the different life situations of parents and children. It will be crucial, above all for the development of Albstadt as a business location, its suburbs and our society as a whole, to provide all sections of the population with a comprehensive range of educational opportunities.

Improve offerings for children of kindergarten and elementary school age

This already starts in the preschool sector with the provision of sufficient high-quality daycare places for children under the age of 3, as well as for children over the age of 3. This must continue with a first-class range of elementary school, as well as secondary schools. The principle of “short legs – short distances” continues to apply, particularly in primary school provision. In an area town like Albstadt, the provision of elementary schooling must therefore continue to be decentralized and as close to the home as possible. This requires appropriate school buildings that meet modern standards, as well as an adequate supply of teaching and support staff.

Overcoming modernization backlogs at secondary schools

The same also applies to our secondary schools: Here, too, we need to set standards when it comes to the structural requirements. One example is the Lammerberg school center, in which considerable sums in the millions have been invested in recent years and in subsequent years. Regardless of the fact that there have been cost explosions here that still require explanation, it is crucial to overcome modernization backlogs at this school center as well as at the secondary schools. This applies not only to the structural furnishings, but above all to equipping our schools with up-to-date teaching materials, WLAN, computer technology and digitalized educational offerings as a whole. In this field, the same principle applies: it is not only planning that is decisive, but also “implementation”. This is another area where backlogs need to be overcome.

Create capacities for any desired type of care

The same applies to schools in our city as it does to daycare centers: The reality of life for families and single parents is becoming increasingly complex. The city must take care of this by providing a wide variety of childcare options for all school divisions, depending on the needs of families. In addition to the “classic” school operation, the aspect of offering all-day care and school meals / cafeterias will therefore become increasingly important in all types of schools. The city of Albstadt has already made good progress here in the past with the creation of a diverse range of services. However, the following must apply: We need sufficient capacities for every desired type of care, without patronizing parents regarding the selection of their chosen type of school.

Promote networked educational services and school social work

Successful modern educational work is a cross-sectional task: The focus must not be on the respective daycare center or school alone – networked educational offerings are becoming increasingly important and must be further expanded. This is done both with our university location in Albstadt-Sigmaringen, as well as with the participation of industry and business, and through further use of the cooperation offers of the Technology Workshop in Albstadt Tailfingen. Only networked learning brings optimal learning success.

Social aspects are also becoming increasingly important in our school landscape. Particularly in times when the origins of students are quite diverse, it is becoming increasingly important to clearly communicate values and social skills at school as well. School social work has already enjoyed great importance in Albstadt in recent years. We are on the right track here – but we need to keep a close eye on how demand develops in this respect. Investing in prevention makes much more sense here in the long term than inaction and waiting.

The essential goal of the forward-looking education policy in Albstadt must be to open up the possibility for the young and future generation in our city to find suitable, high-quality facilities in our city, from kindergarten to university graduation, and subsequently also to obtain sustainable jobs in the city area in order to promote the further growth of our city at a high level.