Aug 13, 2009, 13:23 GMT
Amsterdam - Pupils at one Dutch elementary school are not vacationing this summer. But depending on their parents' schedules, they may be able to enjoy a long vacation at some other time.
De School, in the picturesque coastal village of Zandvoort north of Amsterdam, is the first Dutch elementary school to tailor its schedule entirely to working parents' needs.
The school operates weekdays between 8 am and 6 pm, which enables parents to drop off or pick up their children early or late, depending on their own work schedules. Parents can also determine children's holidays to suit their individual needs.
Speaking to the German Press Agency dpa, school director Marjolein Ploegman said long summer school vacations are 'a legacy from the Netherlands' agrarian past when farmers needed their children during harvesting.'
She also believes that the conventional school hours of 8:30 am to 3:30 pm are 'old-fashioned' and do not suit children's bio-rhythms.
De School opened in August 2008 with an initial enrolment of 14 pupils. Now, enrolment is up to 35 pupils, aged 4 to 11 years. In three other Dutch towns, similar so-called 'flexible schools' are being planned, with one to open in 2010.
'Today's world has become flexible,' said Ploegman. 'It may sound complicated to coordinate a flexible school, but it is really not.'
The school director says her pupils receive individually tailored study programmes. Each programme lasts 10 weeks, with teachers monitoring the pupil's progress. A school year consists of five consecutive study programmes.
Ploegman emphasized her school is not a 'didactic or pedagogical experiment. There are enough special education schools in the Netherlands. We felt we could not reinvent education any further. Therefore we focused on changing the school's overall organization.'
The children come from diverse backgrounds, Ploegman said. Some parents have jobs in which they must work all summer. Sending their children to Ploegman's school means they can avoid having to send their children to expensive summer camps, or engage babysitters or grandparents to look after them.
The government supports the development of child care centres, subsidizing recognized facilities for parents. Still, they remain expensive and because most facilities are not located on school premises, parents must work out ways to make sure their young ones are dropped off safely at these centres.
By contrast, at De School 'our pupils can however remain at school all day,' Ploegman said. She added that the pupils can 'interchangeably play and study' while there.
Whereas public schools in the Netherlands are free of charge, De School is private and costs around 6,000 euros (8,400 dollars) per child per year. This excludes 500 euros to cover the daily cost of the 'healthy biological food' the school provides.
However, since De School integrates day care, parents are entitled to substantial state child care subsidies.
One obstacle still to be overcome concerns the education inspection authority which said in its first report that any school hours taking place between August 2 and September 2 - obligatory vacation time - would not count toward the legally required annual minimum for each pupil.
Ploegman however believes the authority will 'most likely' change its mind about this: 'After all, deputy secretary of education Sharon Dijksma has repeatedly said the current school calendar is outdated.'
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