Principal warns:

Hernals elementary school now facing teacher exodus

Principal Feichtinger makes it clear: "The children need security and continuity. Both are being put at risk here."(Bild: Krone KREATIV/privat, Zwefo)

The planned closure of the Lernwerkstatt Wien West in Hernals continues to cause considerable unrest. The facility is threatened by a teacher exodus. 

The elementary school in Hernalser Hauptstraße, which specializes in children with speech disorders, is to close - as reported by the "Krone" newspaper. A new location is to open in Ottakring instead. What does not sound dramatic at first glance is a catastrophe for the parents of the children concerned. And they are not the only ones who could suffer from the plans.

Principal warns of negative effects
The planned phase-out is "pedagogically questionable", principal Marcella Feichtinger told the "Krone" newspaper. In concrete terms, this means that from the 2026/27 school year, no more new pupils will be accepted and existing classes will be gradually merged and moved to a new location in the 16th district.

Children with special needs from the 17th district would then have to travel a significantly longer distance by public transport every day. "This change puts a massive strain on the children with special needs in particular, as they are dependent on stable, constant connections," says Feichtinger.

Elementary school will gradually disappear.(Bild: Elternverein)

Highly trained teachers in great demand
This transitional phase is also causing turbulence from an organizational perspective. There are already signs of an exodus within the teaching team. "Many colleagues have announced that they will not be joining us. The team, which has grown over the years and is perfectly coordinated, is being torn apart," explains the principal. "We are losing an immense resource of experience." Feichtinger knows that the highly specialized speech and language therapists in particular are not easy to replace: "This wealth of experience is being lost - a bitter loss for the children."

"Conceptless and half-baked"
When asked about alternatives, Feichtinger seems disillusioned. Although she understands the lack of space, the options have not been sufficiently examined. In her opinion, school locations could have been planned at an early stage or other solutions could have been found in the immediate vicinity, instead of destroying an educational concept that has been successfully established for over 20 years in the short term. The current course seems "conceptless and half-baked".