Visit from the State Secretary for Education, Mrs Christina Henke!

At the invitation of the Association of Private Schools in Berlin-Brandenburg (VDP) and in close cooperation with Ms. Sabina Bothe, Managing Director of the VDP, we were honored to welcome Ms. Christina Henke, State Secretary for Education of the State of Berlin, to Platanus Schule Berlin.

Ms. Henke regularly takes the time to visit both public and private schools in person. Her goal: to gain an authentic understanding of the challenges and potential within Berlin’s education system and to engage directly with students, teachers, and school leadership. A particularly special aspect of her visit was that Ms. Henke herself grew up in the Prenzlauer Berg/Pankow area – making her visit to our school not only professionally relevant but also personally meaningful as she returned to familiar surroundings.

We were also pleased to welcome Ms. Reuter, our school inspector and responsible for independent schools, who is currently overseeing the gradual development of our upper secondary level (gymnasiale Oberstufe).

Our school founders, Dr. Karen Krüger (Managing Director) and Ms. Sabine Schoenermark (Finance and Facilities), together with our Head of Upper Secondary School, Mr. Zeh, led the tour of the construction site for our new building for grades 11 to 13 on Benjamin-Vogelsdorff-Straße. This new facility will offer between 75 and 105 additional school places for the upper secondary level in the Pankow district – an important contribution to the development of educational opportunities in Berlin-Pankow.

They were accompanied by three of our 11th-grade students – Nikolai, Niko, and Noyan – who shared insights about our school and answered questions.

Following the construction site tour, a short walk took the group to our main building, where Ms. Henke was able to gain impressions of our bilingual teaching in action. The visit concluded with a thoughtful discussion round on topics such as the organization and management of private schools and forward-looking approaches to education.

We sincerely thank Ms. Henke for her visit, her openness, and her interest in our school. We especially appreciate that she highlighted the importance of diversity within Berlin’s educational landscape – a matter very close to our hearts. In our view, constructive dialogue between policymakers, educational authorities, public institutions, and independent schools is a key pillar for a diverse and thriving education system in Berlin.