Amsterdam invests in equal opportunities in primary, secondary education

Amsterdam is investing millions of euros into equal opportunities in primary- and secondary education. With this money, schools can offer extra learning time and tutoring for pupils, invest in smaller classes, new teaching materials, and extra training for teachers, the Amsterdam office of mayor and aldermen said.

This investment, 9.2 million euros for secondary education over four years and 12 million euros annually in primary education, already started and the first results are visible in the evaluations of the 2019-2020 school year. The investments are focused on schools who need it most.

A total of 183 primary schools took part in this opportunities approach. 75 percent implemented extended learning times, resulting in them being able to work more in small groups. About 64 percent invested in reading and reported that their pupils' reading skills and pleasure increased. Schools also focused on the motivation, self confidence, and social-emotional development of their pupils. "The schools are seeing positive results and are happy with the extra opportunities," the office of mayor and aldermen said. "But there are still plenty of challenges. The differences between schools remain large."

32 secondary schools participated in this approach, resulting in almost 7,500 pupils getting extra attention. On average, they received 2.4 hours of extra teaching time per week. These mainly involved students who need some extra help due to their socio-economic background or command of the Dutch language, the office said.

"Combating educational disadvantage is the spearhead of our policy, we fight inequality with inequality," Education alderman Marjolein Moorman said. "Schools and children who need more are also offered more."