Helligvær is located in the sea gap outside Bodø. About 100 people live on the small island. A poor working environment is said to have led to both dismissals and sick leave in both the school and the nursery school. According to the parents, the first-graders have had 13 different teachers since school started in the autumn. At times, the youth level must have been entirely alone, and in many subjects there must not have been any teaching. Bodø municipality confirms that they have received a notification about the situation. The parents put the responsibility on the newly appointed principal: Renate Aslaug Dahle. This is the principal Photo: Even Norheim Johansen / news Renate Aslaug Dahle has changed her name a number of times. Before she became principal at the school in Helligvær, she ran a kindergarten in Bergen. The municipality considered closing this kindergarten due to the conditions. It was also established that over the years she had drawn more salary than what the law permitted. After an inspection, the municipality believed that she, as board member, had not taken care of her educational, personnel and administrative responsibilities. The nursery school appealed against the decision, and the municipality’s decision was overturned after a complaint was processed by the State Administrator. This year, Dahle has applied for a number of principal jobs at smaller schools around the country. In Bodø municipality, she got a hold of it. Before she started her job, she told the local newspaper Bodø Nu: – I’m someone who doesn’t take myself too seriously, so I’m looking forward to contributing to making the environment out there as easy and fun as possible. This together with a focused approach to a safe learning environment. In the same newspaper, she stated that she did not have much experience in school management. Demand the principal’s resignation In a letter sent to the municipality, the parents take a hard line with the municipality’s and the school’s handling of the situation. Now they are demanding the rector’s resignation. – It’s so bad at school now that it can’t get any worse. We have to speak up. If we don’t do that, we are bad parents, says Nina Pedersen to news. She is the representative of FAU at the school. Together with Olaug Olsen, she has signed the letter from FAU. Early childhood center in Væran The school in Væran has both a nursery school and a school with grades from first to tenth. The orange building is located close to the quay where the speedboat docks. CommutersMany people commute to Bodø from Helligvær to work. The boat takes just under an hour. Several of the teachers at the school commute to the island. Pupils also commute from Givær, a small island next to Helligvær. In the past, pupils from the island of Landegode also commuted, but they now go to school in the center of Bodø. Important for society The residents of the island describe the childcare center as a very important part of the local community. In the evenings, parts of the school building are also used for other activities such as training for both adults and children. In the middle of the ocean gap The school’s closest neighbor is the sea. If the weather is too bad, the boat will not return to the city after school. Then the teachers have to spend the night on the island. news has submitted the criticism to Renate Aslaug Dahle in this case. She has the following comment: – My intention is that the headmaster and staff, in collaboration with parents, can work to ensure that the school is experienced as a safe and inclusive environment for pupils in line with the knowledge pledge and the Education Act. Bodø municipality states that they have temporarily appointed an experienced principal at the school. – Bodø municipality deeply regrets the situation at the Skolen i Væran childcare center. Bodø municipality takes this very seriously, writes Elin Eidsvik in an email to news. She is department director for the education and culture department. You can read the entire municipality’s response further down in the case. Nina Pedersen says the atmosphere in the school quickly changed in the autumn. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Changed quickly Pedersen has had children at the school for over a decade. Despite small circumstances on a small island, she has never had anything to complain about in the school environment. But in September something happened. The headmaster for many years moved on to another job and was replaced by Renate Aslaug Dahle. Then everything must have changed. In the evening there is a lot of activity in the school building. Both adults and children use the gymnasium for training. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – Two teachers were called in sick. After about a week, a newly hired teacher resigned. A few weeks after that, another teacher resigned, says Pedersen. It has still not been 40 days since the new headmaster started his job. Now only one of the permanent employees is left at work, according to the parents. – Since then there have been a lot of substitutes at the school, she says and adds: – It feels absolutely terrible. news has tried to get a comment from the Education Association. They did not wish to comment on the matter. Do you feel that the municipality cares more about the headmaster than the children The parents believe that the school is in free fall. They say they have tried to establish good cooperation with Bodø municipality. – We had to argue at meetings. It has now been put in place, but we have not seen any further action. Not at all. We really only meet resistance from the municipality, says Pedersen. Many of the residents at Helligvær have children in school and kindergarten. They say they have met resistance from Bodø municipality in connection with the conflict. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik/news The parents believe that the municipality is talking about the principal’s case, not the children’s case. – You would think that a municipality has the children’s best interests as its starting point. That they dare to see that the Education Act is being broken on a daily basis, I don’t understand. – What do you think should happen now? – The principal must leave the school. Then the school will have a balanced school environment and the teachers will return. Bodø municipality apologizes Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – Bodø municipality strongly apologizes for the situation at the Skolen i Væran upbringing center. Bodø municipality takes this very seriously. This is what Elin Eidsvik writes in an e-mail to news. She is department director for the upbringing and culture department in Bodø municipality. Eidsvik further writes that the municipality continuously prioritizes and implements measures to deal with the situation. – The situation at the childcare center in Væran has arisen over the past month, she writes. The department director does not wish to comment on the conditions surrounding the headmaster, and points out that this is a personnel matter. – However, it can be confirmed that the municipality has received a notification which is being processed, and that this is handled according to the municipality’s adopted notification routines. In an interview with news, Eidsvik says that the municipality is in the process of investigating what she refers to as conditions raised by parents and employees. – The situation that has arisen in the weather is very regrettable. Bodø municipality is responsible for running a good and safe nursery, and for having a safe and good school environment at the childcare centre, she says. – The parents say that the first class has had 13 different teachers, and that there must have been a lack of teaching at the junior level. What is your comment on that? – If this is true, it is not satisfactory. – The parents are now threatening to take the children out of school and kindergarten. What is your comment on that? – It is very regrettable. It emphasizes the seriousness from the parents’ side. We will do what we can to prevent that from happening, she says. Eidsvik states that the municipality has temporarily brought in assistance from an experienced principal from another who is now contributing to the school. Can take the children out – In principle, parents have every right to take their children out of school, if that is what they see as the best for their own child. That’s what Guri Adelsten Iversen says. She is director of education at the State Administrator in Nordland. She points out that the aim is for the public school to look after the needs of all children, both in terms of learning and the school environment. The parents of the children in the school and nursery school say the childcare center has worked well for as long as they can remember. Since the summer, things have changed. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – It is therefore a shame that parents who are not satisfied with the school believe that the best solution is to take their children out of school. It is not a good situation. This is something they must try to find a solution for together with the municipality. She adds: – The municipality is responsible for the school provision. Helligvær is located a short hour by speedboat outside the center of Bodø. Professor reacts The fact that there have been 13 different teachers in the first class since the start of school causes Thomas Nordahl to react. He is professor of pedagogy at Høgskolen i Innlandet. – It doesn’t sound right at all. Then it is completely unstable and becomes unsafe for the students. This is something that shouldn’t happen. – How many teachers would be acceptable? – When you go to first class, it is important that there are as few as possible. It is for reasons of safety and stability. We know that having a close relationship with a teacher is important for learning. It won’t be when there are so many. Then it’s unstable and you don’t get the security of adults. Professor Thomas Nordahl reacts to the fact that there have been many teachers in the first class. Photo: Tormod Strand / news – What can the children lose by home schooling? – It very much depends on what educational qualifications the parents have. Being a teacher is a profession. And when you take responsibility for home education, you must in many ways give your children what they could have received if they had had a teacher. Some will certainly cope with it, while others will have slightly greater challenges, he says. At the same time, he is ready to accept that it is the parents who are responsible for their children, and there is an opening for home education in Norway. – If they do not think that the training offer locally is satisfactory, then that is understandable, he says.
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Helligvær got a new principal – parents want to take their children out of school – news Nordland
