Another Amsterdam school closing over teacher shortage

The education crisis claimed another victim in Amsterdam with the announcement that the primary education provider Linnaeusschool will shut down at the end of the school year. The Amsterdam Oost school will close because of a combination too few teachers on staff, and too few pupils in the classrooms, the parent organization STAIJ told the Parool.

The decision means parents will have to find new schools for the 76 students in attendance. STAIJ board chair Arnold Jonk said that it becomes increasingly challenging to recruit teachers when the number of students falls. Likewise, several parents “saw it coming,” Jonk said.

“In a large number of schools, the breaking point has been reached, and the consequences for the pupils and current teachers, as well as the school management, can be clearly felt,” the STAIJ board wrote to Education Minister Arie Slob. The statement was part of the emergency plan presented by the organization for dealing with the teacher shortage impacting the entire Netherlands. STAIJ runs 20 schools across Amsterdam Oost.

All students at Linnaeusschool who will transition from group seven to eight, the last year of primary school, will be allowed to remain together as one class at another school nearby. The remaining students will select their preferences for a new school, and will find out their placement by April 10, Parool reported.

Since last June, Amsterdam schools De Waaier, 16de Montessorischool, and De Avonturijn all announced they were shutting their doors.