In the heart of Hamburg, the city renowned for its rich history and progressive politics, the SPD's Ties Rabe, the school senator, has praised the success of the "Anschluss" mentoring program. This program primarily focuses on supporting underperforming students as they transition to secondary school. Ties Rabe points to a recent evaluation of the program by the Institute for Educational Monitoring and Quality Development, which shows a positive impact on many pupils' learning. The evaluation revealed improved learning development and reduced learning deficits for these students. Since its launch in August 2021, over 11,000 pupils have benefited from the program, which offers additional learning courses in subjects like reading, text comprehension, writing, and mathematics. These sessions, led by specially trained mentors, take place twice a week after regular school hours.
Despite the initial collaboration between the school authorities, the State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development, and external entities, the LI now manages the program alone. Data from school statistics and surveys conducted between February 2022 and July 2023 were analyzed for the program evaluation, and interviews were held with school administrators, teachers, and mentors to ensure a comprehensive assessment. Sabine Boeddinghaus, spokesperson for school policy for the left-wing parliamentary group, hailed the program's success, expressing that education can indeed have a lasting impact and help children thrive beyond academic requirements. She emphasized the importance of making this beneficial program accessible to all Hamburg's students to tackle the prevalent educational inequalities.
While the provided article does not reference the specific "Anschluss" mentoring program in Hamburg, it highlights the city's dedication to addressing educational inequality by implementing initiatives like the ones offered by the AG Psychosoziale Migrationsforschung (AGPM) at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). These initiatives, targeting migrants and underachieving children, include intercultural educational programs, practical training opportunities, and a strong emphasis on networking between research, healthcare, and education.
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[1] AGPM at UKE, "Intercultural initiatives at AGPM," University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, accessed March 20, 2023.
