The number of students at the Gustav-Meyer-Schule appears to be rising. However, this is a complex phenomenon attributed to the following collateral issues:

• until 1990: no special help school for students with SEN (“cognitive domain”) in the municipalities of  Kreuzberg ; 100% of these students are  enrolled in other school districts. in the district of Friedrichshain (East Berlin, until 1989 under GDR law) students are serviced by day care facilities within the Health Dpt. as “non educable”
• 1991 – 2003: Gustav-Meyer-Schule operates in ill equipped and small school building in Friedrichshain with max. cap. of 60 students; Friedrichhain’s Kreuzberg’s majority of students still enrolled in other school districts of Berlin
• 2001: Administrative reorganization of Berlin unites Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg to form one urban district; authorities opt for one special help school in each Berlin district with a max. capacitiy of 120 students each; therefore, planning of new school site for Gustav-Meyer-Schule starts with a max. cap. of 120 students in mind based on data from the 1990’s (dramatic drop of births since the fall of the Berlin Wall)
• since 2003: rising birth rate in the urban district Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. Conflicting roles of the two sub-districts due to the large number of young residents in the Friedrichshain area leading that development; planning cannot be modified, though, due to political and economical reasons
• 2004 – 2006: transfer of Gustav-Meyer-Schule to the larger facility at Kohlfurter Str. in the Kreuzberg district; however, limited access due to ongoing reconstruction of the building
• 2006: as larger numbers of children approach preschool and kindergarten age, authorities publish state wide planning strategies (Schulentwicklungsplan) until the year 2015 still based on the assumption of long term birth decline
• 2007: after reconstruction of the new building, Gustav-Meyer-Schule offers its max. capacity; percentage of multiply challenged students enrolled in Gustav-Meyer-Schule climbing up to  40%
• 2008: as larger numbers of children reach schooling age in general, more and more special help schools (“cognitive domain”), too, are overcrowded despite a rising number of SEN-students in regular classes
• 2009: max. capacity at Gustav-Meyer-Schule exceeded; 2 classes moved to the neighboring primary school
• 2010: 3rd class moved to the neighboring primary school; number of residents in the district of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg up by 22,000 over the last decade
• Jan.-June 2011: “unexpectedly” 20% more students sign up for the next school year in primary schools of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, enrollment of special needs students (“cognitive domain” –  moderate and profound level) at the age of 6 is also approx. 20% higher than expected by the authorities; however, special education funds are capped according to previous decisions and present economic limits
• August 2011: two more classes will be placed in the neighboring primary school, the expected number of students at Gustav-Meyer-Schule will rise to 140-142
• Sep. 2011: School board accepts the need for an extension of Gustav-Meyer-Schule estimates future capacity of approx. 200. A larger cooperation between Gustav-Meyer-Schule and the neighbouring Jens-Nydahl-Schule will be part of the process

Note:

The special education rate for students with SEN in the “cognitive domain” was 0.9% in Germany and 0.69% in Berlin (according to the official “Behindertenbericht” and “KMK”-Report, 2006-2009).

The district of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg staid below this figure featuring one of the highest rates of mainstreaming those students within Berlin and Germany in general ever since the late 70’s of the last century. This holds still true despite the rising number of students at the Gustav-Meyer-Schule.

The enrolment therefore is no sign of a growing rate of placing students in special help schools in gerneral or Gustav-Meyer-Schule particularly. The development of Gustav-Meyer-Schule is stimulated rather by a combination of social and political factors within the school district and Berlin in general. At the same time the development of Gustav-Meyer-Schule reflects the limits of planning. Aditionally, the growth of Gustav-Meyer-Schule tells its growing reputation and is a benchmark of parents exercising their legal right to choose either a general school or special help school for their child.

Parents’ choice of the school for their child is a fundamental right expressed by the public law “Schulgesetz” since 2004, and still is since the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006, Germany 2009).