Rucksack Schule is a program for multilingual language and family education integrated into everyday life at elementary school. It is offered to multilingual children in grades one to four and their families. Parent groups meet weekly at the school under the guidance of a parent mentor. They provide teaching and support materials. She also advises and supports the parents and gives them suggestions for encouraging their children to learn and practise their home language.

 

The program materials are used in subject lessons and in home language lessons (HSU), and the aim is to link them to the content of the parents' group. Implementing the program at school strengthens parental involvement there and can support the school in its diversity-oriented opening. The program is currently being implemented at eleven schools in Cologne. Funding is provided by the City of Cologne and the Ministry of Schools and Education.