We are delighted to announce that after three years of planning, the International School Westpfalz is due to open its doors in August 2017 in Marktstraße 27, 66877 Ramstein-Miesenbach.

The International School Westpfalz will be offering education according to the highest international standards to develop inquiring, compassionate, knowledgeable young people. The school will start as a Kindergarten and Primary school, accepting enrolments for students aged 4 -11 years old (pre-school through to Year Six). Our plan is to review the success of this start-up over a three year period as a primary school. If we see a positive a reaction and receive the support we will need in setting up this pioneer project, then we will consider rolling out the school to both a middle school and high school section over the coming years. The plan is to use the next three years to develop an international school supported by the region, which will also have close ties with the International School in Neustadt an der Weinstraße. It is our goal, which is shared by the representatives in Neustadt, to demonstrate the value of an international school for the locality, the region and the economy as well as to establish ideal framework conditions and obtain the necessary recognition.

The new Primary School will offer the following:

• International all-day school for children aged 4-11 years (Kindergarten through to Year Six)
• Internationally recognized Curricular program – International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP)
• English will be the language of instruction
• Strong German program
• Afterschool care program until 5pm each day of the week
• Afterschool activities program (such as music, sports and arts)
• Individual support and coaching in small groups by internationally qualified teachers
• Learning Support Unit
• Globally connected environment
• Strong community atmosphere

It is our aim to build a strong community that is dedicated, fully integrated and, naturally, interested in establishing a good, trust-based relationship with all schools in the Westpfalz region.

The success of opening this school in August 2017 in Ramstein can be attributed to a small group of people whom have supported us greatly over the last few years. In particular Dr Weichel and his team, whom despite our decision to locate to Ramstein, have always seen the International school project as being a regional milestone and not just a Kaiserslautern project. The fact is, without the support of Dr Weichel in insisiting that we send out a letter to all of the mayors in the region to check for opportunities, we would never have found our new site in Ramstein.

We furthermore wish to thank Dr Clev for his assistance and tireless mentoring in the region as well as the Board of ZukunftsRegion Westpfalz Association for its active and valuable support.

It is a known fact that, over the past few years, we ceaselessly tried and were, at times, very close to renting suitable premises for a school in Kaiserslautern that would cater for all age groups. Despite immense efforts, we were, however, unable to find a place that would have been available at short notice and that could have been put to use without requiring the owner or us to first invest large amounts of money. As, initially, we would only rent the property for a limited time and required it at short notice, new-builds had to be excluded at this stage.

As a consequence, we decided to start with a first-stage facility and it was logical reason to widen the search to the area surrounding Kaiserslautern. The result is a bonus for the entire region and therefore also for the town of Kaiserslautern, which is and remains an interesting location when, in the coming years, secondary school facilities are going to be added. Due to the limited space available at Ramstein, such expansion is unlikely to be realised there.

The establishment of a primary school in the Westpfalz region is going to indirectly strengthen our school in Neustadt. Older pupils including those from the Westpfalz, already enjoy the education they look for and need. Hence, we offer educational facilities in two separate localities which will reinforce the international character of the region, even beyond its borders. This is a priceless pull factor for international companies, researchers and specialist staff.

As far as our work in the last few months is concerned, we also wish to thank the mayors in the region whom have offered us potential solutions in their respective districts.

We are also very grateful to Ralf Hechler, the mayor of the town and the association of municipalities of Ramstein-Miesenbach, for the wonderful support he lent us during our search for premises, and the assurance of continued support that we are going to receive from the local community. The building in Ramstein, in close vicinity to the existing primary school, is ideally located and offers many advantages such as the shared used of the sports facilities, the canteen and the school yard. Further leisure facilities are within walking distance. For many years, the building used to house the day-care centre run by the Ökumenisches Gemeinschaftswerk [charitable organisation].

And last but not least we want to thank Mr Tremmel, the owner of the property. We look forward to working with him in the years to come and are pleased that very soon, we hope, the building will resound with the laughter of children.

Foto: Erb