Photo: C. Fischer

Waldorf schools in Austria are heavily dependent on parent fees and donations – much more so than in Germany. Funds for building renovations or remodeling work are often hard to come by. That was the case at the Waldorf School in Klagenfurt. The school had erected wooden school buildings in the 1980s, but these were intended to be only a temporary solution. As is often the case, a temporary solution turned into a permanent situation. Eventually, however, the original buildings reached their limits: after more than 30 years, use or renovation of the rooms is no longer possible. And since, as Italian educator Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) once noted, the classroom is the “third teacher” – after classmates and teachers – the school community has decided to build a new school. They will be supported by the Software AG Foundation.