Alderman Arjen van Drunen: “Education can help give children equal chances”.

Alderman Arjen van Drunen: “Education can help give children equal chances”.

With the municipal elections approaching, local education policy is also back in the spotlight. Municipalities play an important role in topics like school buildings, equal opportunities, and student transport.

In Breda, Arjen van Drunen is alderman with education in his portfolio. He tells how he entered politics and why education is so important to him.

From young council member to alderman

Arjen got into local politics at a young age. “Eight years ago, I joined Breda politics. I was 24 years old and immediately became the chair of the Labour Party in the municipal council,” he says.

When his predecessor as alderman left, he was asked to take over. “I was 27 when I became alderman, making me the youngest alderman in Breda’s history.”

Education was a portfolio he wanted. “My mother works in special education, so it is close to me. Also, I believe education can level the playing field. It can help create equal opportunities for children.”

But Arjen says education alone cannot solve inequality of opportunity. “Education is an important way to work on equal chances, but more is needed. Think about support for parents, good facilities, and cooperation with youth care.”

Early childhood education can also contribute to equal opportunities for children.

More parental involvement

One way the municipality tries to promote equal chances is through the concept of family schools (a school where activities and support for parents are also organized besides education for children). This idea was introduced earlier in Amsterdam and is now also applied in Breda.

“Soon we will have three family schools in the city,” says Arjen. “There, we try to get parents more involved with the school. This can start with something simple like coffee or tea hours. That may sound soft, but parental involvement has a big impact on learning results.”

Besides this, Breda works with extended school days and extra activities for children. They also introduced a youth breakfast so children always start school with a full stomach.

Arjen also finds inclusive education important. “My children go to a school with kids who, for example, have Down syndrome. I value that. As a municipality, we can contribute by thinking along about school buildings or support from youth care.”

The view of a parent

Having children himself also influences how Arjen looks at education as alderman. He talks about his daughter who plays at daycare with a girl with Down syndrome.

“For her, she is just a friend to play in the sandbox with. Children do not make that distinction at all.”

That is why he finds inclusive education important. “I find it a wealth that my children grow up in an environment where everyone belongs.”

Preventing dropouts

An ongoing problem in education is that of dropouts. Dropouts are children who, for various reasons, do not go to school.

“That is a hard problem,” says Arjen. “Sometimes a school says they cannot help a child well because, for example, the child falls behind. But it turns out the problem is not cognitive but something else.”

In Breda, they use observation classes. “Children can be observed there for a while to better understand their needs. Then we can better decide which school place fits best.”

According to Arjen, cooperation among parents, schools, and municipalities is essential. “You must look together at what really works for a child.”

Problems with school buildings

The condition of school buildings also worries him. Van Drunen says municipalities get too little money from the national government for school buildings.

“As a municipality, we often spend more money than we get from the national government,” he says. “The system is actually unsustainable.”

He mentions examples of schools with bad conditions. “Poor ventilation and condensation on windows. These are workplaces where adults would not want to work, but where their children sit daily.”

According to Arjen, this topic must come higher on the political agenda.

Why voting is important

With the municipal elections coming, Arjen calls on parents to cast their vote.

Education can sometimes be a forgotten topic in the municipality. According to Arjen, this is not right. “You can expect that a alderman for traffic focuses on traffic and an alderman for housing on housing construction,” he says.

“But with education, this is sometimes less obvious, because aldermen often think I do not interfere with education, that is only up to education itself. That is why it is important that parents go vote and see which parties really work for good education and their children. Municipalities can strengthen education in their area.”