“We see ourselves as a school that feels connected to the community of Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn in a special way,” is the guiding principle of the local grammar school. The goal is stated in it: “Connect school and society with one another.” In fact, Karsten Voges feels, the school is currently in the process of isolating itself from the community and society.
The Green City Council means the roller doors that were installed at the entrance to the grammar school during the autumn holidays to lock the playground in the evenings and on weekends. In an open letter to the school management, administration association and district administrator, Voges is now calling for these “prison-like fences” to be dismantled. He also demands an explanation “how this deterioration in the school and the school yard could take place”. According to Voges, neither the local council nor parents and students were informed of the plans in advance.
Headmistress Claudia Gantke disagrees on this point. According to her, the project was discussed with the parents’ council, the student council and the association, which had to commission the installation of the roller doors. Gantke describes this measure to cordon off the school courtyard and the entrances to the school as the “ultima ratio” against a nuisance that has been burdening her high school for years. According to this, the school yard is being used as a skate area, for playing football and as a party area from afternoon until late at night. The result is garbage, cigarette butts, broken glass and other legacies.
In addition, Gantke reports on incidents in which the class was disrupted, for example through obscene gestures in front of the windows or knocking on windows. Sometimes unauthorized persons even broke into the school building and harassed high school students. For safety reasons alone, the school was therefore forced to cordon off the playground after other measures – such as motion detectors and stronger lights – had not been successful. The parents’ council also supports the barriers at the entrance “to protect the school from vandalism”, says Anja Böger-Lange, the chairwoman of the committee. According to her, there have been inquiries from parents in the past who have spoken out in favor of separating the school courtyard from the S-Bahn station. Regarding the school’s information policy, she says: “The planning of the structural change was announced to the parents ‘council and the class parents’ representatives – and thus the entire parenting of the school – as early as 2019.”
Rupert Franke (SPD), on the other hand, was surprised by the roller doors. “I’m a member of the Zweckverband, youth representative and local council – and yet I didn’t know anything about it. That’s why I can share the criticism that communication didn’t work here,” he says. In terms of content, however, he can understand the intention of the school management, admits Franke, who himself still attended the local high school until 2019 and was the student representative there for years. “I know from my time that there were always problems with garbage in the playground that the caretaker had to clear away in the morning.”
Meanwhile, his green councilor Karsten Voges refers to a recent survey among children and young people in the village. Accordingly, there are too few meeting places and places to stay, especially for the elderly among them. By cordoning off the school yard, the young people are now being deprived of “an important meeting place”, complains Voges, who emphasizes: “Isolation of this kind is not appropriate for an open school.”
Headmaster Claudia Gantke rejects this accusation. Despite the barriers, the high school remains an open school, she makes clear – “especially in a figurative sense”. Associations and adult education centers used the schoolhouse. And after the planned expansion, the brass band will also find a home there. “We are always open to cooperation with external parties and community organizations,” says Gantke. “But we must not allow littering and abuse of our students and teachers.”