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Here, in a side building in what is now called Härlanda Park in eastern Gothenburg, but which until 23 years ago was a large prison, now houses a house of culture and a library.
But here in the Elevator room, the only thing that reminds me of the story is the thick stone walls that make the classroom a bit chilly during the day.
But there are no chairs here. No blackboard. Instead, there are a handful of small desks separated from each other by high, sound-absorbing partitions.
High shields. No chairs. This is the “elevator” classroom of the special school in Gothenburg, where high school students end up who, according to the principal, must be forcibly transferred from the regular school. On the left, the director of student health Johanna Funke, on the board the teacher Johanna Sundfeldt, on the right the president of the elementary school committee, Helene Odenjung.
Photo: Tomas Ohlsson
Elevator is the name about the special activity that started this spring but which many in the Gothenburg city school world have yet to hear about. A kind of emergency exit to relocate high school students throughout the municipality for up to four school weeks (20 days).
– Sometimes it is important to be able to urgently get them out of school, but also to pick them up as people. Change a behavior. Make them think about what they want out of life. That is why we wanted to start Elevator, says Helene Odenjung, leader of the liberal group in Gothenburg and responsible school counselor.
DN was present when he visited the activity this week after the parties of the alliance entered it into the budget that won the support of the council almost two years ago:
Job name was recovered from Stockholm, where what started seven years ago has grown to two units, one in Östermalm, another in Kungsholmen, and has dropped in age to also host sixth-grade students. The next step in the capital is a version also for the voluntary high school.
– “This is where Stockholm’s concerns go,” I remember DN wrote when we opened, says initiator Bosse Andersson, former principal of the primary school in Stockholm.
“This is where Stockholm’s concerns go,” I remember DN wrote when we opened
– The idea was to face an unsustainable situation, for the student and for the school. Sometimes they need a time out from each other. That is perceived as a kind of punishment to get there, it is not possible to get away. But something happens when they are there, because 80-90 percent turn positive, that’s our experience.
However, no more in-depth assessment has been made of how things are going for students sent to “Skolakuten” in Stockholm, says Bosse Andersson.
– But they feel very good in Skolakuten, he says.
Gothenburg City Student Health Director Johanna Funke is responsible for the construction of the Elevator.
Photo: Tomas Ohlsson
The city of Malmö has now also opened its own variant. The so-called Lots team began welcoming students when the fall term began.
– We have two students in teaching. Students are placed in Lots due to disciplinary action. Our effort is 6 to 8 weeks in wide spaces here in the elementary school administration, says unit director Christina Törnkvist.
When Johanna Funke He was tasked with starting a “school emergency” in Gothenburg, a key issue was finding a suitable location. Funke is the chief of student health in the borough and had the privilege of being able to recruit teachers and curators based on a large number of qualified applicants.
– There were many crazy people who applied, for example, people who worked in prisons. We have taken care that the teachers here are competent in all subjects, but their attitude and values have also been crucial, says Johanna Funke.
It was more difficult to find the correct location for the school, which currently has five students but is capped at seven. They are directed by three professors and two curators.
– The room must be reasonably anonymous, it cannot be too close to any other school where you can clean and configure it, explains Johanna Funke.
Elevator controlled by paragraph 5:13 of the school law. Say what “If the measures pursuant to section 12 are not intrusive enough or due to other circumstances they are not possible to implement, the principal may decide that a student will temporarily continue teaching in another school unit.”
Helene Odenjung is president of the compulsory school board in Gothenburg. She has been a political advocate behind “Elevator.” Here Johanna Funke shows one of the places for students.
Photo: Tomas Ohlsson
– A location here should give a slightly longer effect than a simple emergency effort. Students are placed for ten or twenty days and the director decides the duration in advance, Stockholm taught us how important it is that everyone knows in advance what is applied, says Johanna Funke.
So who are the students? Who are forcibly placed here? For a species restriction It is. The director’s decision cannot be appealed.
Until now, everyone who has come here has been men. The staff says that if there are multiple children who are considered to be connected to organized crime in the same district, one of them can be sent here.
– Some cases are obvious, some have been on the verge of carrying out school attacks, have used violence against staff or have committed other serious crimes where they felt that “no, this is not possible”, says the director of student health Johanna Funke.
Some cases are obvious, some have been involved in school shootings, have used violence against staff or have committed stabbings where they felt “no, this is not possible.”
Prior to a placement in Elevator, it is verified that those who can meet there are not already known young people, there are contacts with the police and social services. Once in the Elevator, students are encouraged not to tell each other why they were sent there.
– You could say that what they have in common is that he has gone crazy. There are those who are very good at studying, but also those who have a great need for special support, says Johanna Funke.
From the elevator classroom window you see the old prison wall on the left and the Eastern Cemetery on the right. Curator Karin Oddmar says the quiet walk to the cemetery has proven to be a good environment for conversation and that they try to get the student’s own story about why they ended up here.
– The most common is that the student has thought that he has been disorderly where he is and has been involved in generating violence, encouraging violence or threats. Nobody denies it and says it has not happened. But they also experience unfair treatment from the school, they see others who do things but are not “punished”.
She says students can also have a hard time going back.
– You may feel that you have expectations of being “worse”.
Curator Karin Oddmar has many of the conversations with students who have been placed in Elevator.
Photo: Tomas Ohlsson
To DN’s question about the children who come here, it seems like a punishment, Johanna Funke and Karin Oddmar answer with the same mouth:
– Yeah sure!
– …. but they also know us as a place without prejudices, we do not despise them.
Many applicants for Elevator teaching and curating positions got Johanna Funke (left) on board. Here he walks through the premises together with Helene Odenjung of the Liberals, Professor Johanna Sundfeldt and Commissioner Karin Oddmar.
Photo: Tomas Ohlsson
Are all parts Satisfied with “emergency exits” like Elevator? We do not know what the students themselves say, DN has not been able to speak directly to them.
The authorities do not raise questions. The Swedish School Inspectorate says they have not received any reports and representatives of the National Education Agency say that “we really have no opinions on this activity as long as they comply with the Education Act.”
Gothenburg elementary school board chairwoman Helene Odenjung says she is considering whether students could exit the Elevator too soon without the regular school being equipped to receive them.
– I also think that the city of Gothenburg should be prepared to expand with another place and I am also thinking about the need of the secondary school for something similar, he says.
Helene Odenjung experiences that schools today are sometimes allowed to do “things that are really the mission of social services.”
– We need more cross-border collaboration, that has consequences, we mark that. I really believe in this idea. I don’t want to give up on people. I think that many people end up in misery because they do not believe in themselves. So it’s great to be able to see young people who come to feel this faith come and feel that it is changing.
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