The start of construction for a building for the Dresden University School (USD) has been postponed once again. A new building is to enable the public school trial by TU Dresden and the City of Dresden to test and research the school of the future in appropriate premises. The school and learning space plays a central role in the USD concept and its design, as it has a significant influence on learning and the organization of the school.
The current situation has prompted a public statement from the Dresden University School trial's Structure and Evaluation Commission. The committee of renowned educational scientists and experienced practitioners is clearly concerned about the stagnation with regard to the announced new school building. In addition to the tense space situation, there is also a lack of specialised rooms for biology, physics and chemistry, as well as a sports hall appropriate for the number of pupils, the rooms required for the tied all-day program and work rooms for the learning facilitators.
The school opened its doors at the Cämmerswalder Straße site in August 2019 for 200 children in grades 1, 2, 3 and 5 in a building from the 1980s. In the following years, it grew to three classes per year level as planned. When it became one of the first two public community schools in Saxony in the 2022 school year, 650 children and young people were already studying here. Even then, the old GDR building had already reached its capacity limits, but the new building had not yet started with the design planning already completed. In the 2022/23 school year, the primary and middle school with grades 1 to 6 moved into a container building instead, which had to make way for the school garden and areas for break times. Since then, the higher grades have been studying in the GDR school building, which is in dire need of renovation, together with the Ukrainian groups.New building not in sight until 2029/30 - research and learning under precarious conditions
The current deadline for the future school building is summer 2029/2030. On the one hand, this means unfavorable learning conditions for the pupils and staff, and on the other, it makes research into the conditions for successful learning and the role of space as a "third educator" impossible. The investigation of this factor, a declared goal of the public school trial, is therefore hardly possible for the first 10 years of the 15 years of scientific monitoring by the University School Research Unit at TU Dresden. The current surveys can only show that learning can succeed despite unfavorable conditions.
Since the commission began its work, the Gemium has repeatedly appealed to the "Dresden University School Community of Responsibility" to secure the necessary resources for the future, always in the hope of finding amicable solutions and a corresponding commitment. In view of the very precarious situation, which significantly impairs school life and hinders the further growth of the school community, the Structure and Evaluation Commission urges that "appropriate construction measures should finally be started and planning security established."
