Citizens get involved: Learning sponsors help students in need!

Citizens get involved: Learning sponsors help students in need!

There is good news for talented students in the Weilheim-Schongau district who need support. Today the “Lernpaten” project was launched, a joint project by the Integration Office and the Citizen Engagement Coordination Office. The aim of the project is to specifically support students with special support needs. Committed citizens have the opportunity to become active as voluntary learning sponsors and thus make an important contribution to educational equality.

The learning sponsors offer targeted support for students with disadvantaged opportunities at primary and secondary schools - regardless of their origin or migration background. The focus is on strengthening the children's potential and offering them individual support in their school learning. The offer is the ideal opportunity for anyone who enjoys working with children and is willing to help at school for one to two hours once or twice a week.

Commitment to the future

The support of the learning mentors is tailored to the individual needs of the students. In particular, areas such as reading and language acquisition, text comprehension and mathematical skills are covered. Interested citizens who have no previous educational knowledge are warmly invited to get involved. The contact person for the Citizen Engagement Coordination Office is Utta Pollmeier, who can be reached on 0881/6811519 or by email at Ehrenamt@lra-wm.bayern.de can be reached. Claudia Neuner-Dietsch, the integration guide, is available at 0881/6811699 and the email address c.neuner-dietsch@lra-wm.bayern.de available.

The level of education of migrants shows that educational opportunities in Germany depend heavily on where they come from. According to the 2024 Education Report, there are significant differences in the highest level of education between people with and without a migration background. While 48 percent of people without a migrant background have an upper secondary education, the figure is only 33 percent of migrants. On average, the second generation of migrants has even lower educational qualifications at lower secondary level. Our new learning mentors can start here to minimize such differences and promote positive development.

Especially in a society like ours, in which diversity plays an increasingly important role, the integration of refugees and immigrants is of crucial importance. Educational qualifications are essential for personal and professional development. Over 60 percent of refugees have a low level of education, which makes the need for projects such as “learning mentors” even more urgent. The commitment of citizens could help to close this gap and give all children a piece of the future.

In this way, education becomes a building block for integration and social participation. Whether as a learning sponsor or through active support – shared commitment moves us all forward and brings the potential of young people to life. So if you are interested in investing some time and passion, you shouldn't be afraid to get in touch! The “Learning Sponsors” project could be just the right step in the right direction.