In 2025, the school on the outskirts of Berlin, founded by three educators, opened its doors for first- and second-graders. The founders aim for nothing less than to revolutionize the German school system – with a model school that draws on insights from research and practice.
Why is a new form of learning needed? “Our society is changing rapidly, yet school structures are rigid and inflexible,” says Friederike Manzer, the school’s educational director and founder. The school system has never been fundamentally reformed on the basis of scientific findings but is instead caught in a conceptual crisis. Manzer studied to become a primary school teacher at the University of Potsdam and graduated in 2019. At the time, primary teacher training included only a single internship at a school. For Manzer, that was not enough. That is why she helped launch the “Kreidestaub” initiative: Prospective teachers should get to know different schools during their studies, including through study trips. In 2016, she participated for the first time with a group of students. They visited public and progressive schools that had been honored for their work with the German School Award or the Jakob Muth Prize for Inclusive Schools. “If I’ve never experienced how school can be different, then I won’t be able to change anything,” says the educator.
Schools around the world
In 2019, the scope of the project expanded, and the students spent three months exploring schools in Finland, Sweden, Russia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The initiative was led by Manzer and Ann-Kathrin Keppke, who earned her master’s degree in educational sciences at the University of Potsdam. “We gathered an incredible number of different impressions on this trip,” Manzer says. And yet, at their core, the typical schools in these countries were similar: children sat at desks and listened to a teacher. “Afterward, we thought a lot about what an ideal education system might look like.” And they didn’t stop at thinking. Immediately after their global study tour, Keppke suggested opening a school together. Co-founder Julia Westphal, who had studied at the University of Münster, was on board, too. “Our main motivation was to change the German school landscape. That’s why we wanted to develop a model school with Marille.”
This idea required six years of preparatory work, including countless weekend shifts during which the founding group grappled not only with the educational program but also with setting up a business, organizational management, and marketing. “That was a very intense period. We spent three years just writing the school concept, always in consultation with people from academic research and practice. “At the core are values such as individuality, empathy, and sustainability. But what matters most to the founders is that their school concept remains adaptable. “Marille should continue to evolve with new findings.”
Children learn and pass on knowledge
In September 2025, the time finally came: 15 children started school. They’ve adapted well to the approach. “The students have a lot of freedom in how they engage with the learning material,” Manzer says. “Recently, two children found an earthworm and researched how these animals live. They presented their findings to their parents at the lantern festival.” There are no classrooms; instead of traditional classes, there are “core groups” of 15 children. Wednesdays are reserved for excursions; on the other days, the children put together their own individual schedules from various learning opportunities. Not only teachers but also the children themselves share their knowledge. For example, when a boy teaches his classmates how to carve, or when children create a magical landscape in the “fairy garden” under the guidance of a student. It is important to the teachers that the children finish what they start. With workbooks, the children can work independently during free study time. In the movement room, first- and second-graders build huts, learn geometry, or do yoga. “They’re always fully engaged,” says Friederike Manzer with a smile. The goal is not for everyone to be at the same level by the end of the school year. The children are expected to acquire the competencies outlined in the framework curriculum but at their own pace. To this end, the teachers use a digital program that records the skills acquired through these activities. “This helps us keep track,” Manzer says.
Nadine Spörer serves as a mentor to the founding team. As Professor of Psychological Elementary Education at the University of Potsdam, she brings extensive expertise in school development. After all, she has long been engaged with contemporary approaches to learning through the Potsdam University School. In regular meetings, Spörer advises the founding team on data collection and evaluation. The collaboration arose through the EXIST start-up grant, for which the three educators successfully applied with the support of Potsdam Transfer. “I was truly delighted by the request from this young, female team,” says Spörer. “They are three very enthusiastic founders with a clear vision of what they want to achieve.” The professor believes it makes sense for the Marille School to focus on individual development. “The teaching team provides intensive support to the first-graders. The focus is on the children’s own motivation, and learning processes are designed around that. So it’s only natural that children not only learn with each other but also from each other.”
A bridge to the university
At Marille, a teacher meets with each child once a week to discuss their learning goals, daily school life, and well-being within the group. The founders brought this mentoring concept back from a global study tour in Israel. “At that school, the focus was on taking time for each individual child. Our vision for a school of the future is to promote personal development as well.” This mentoring program is currently being evaluated as part of a student’s thesis at Nadine Spörer’s chair. She records and analyzes the mentoring sessions. “This helps us better understand the impact of mentoring and whether, for example, the children’s ability to reflect is changing,” Manzer says. Spörer considers such data collection essential. “This allows us to answer the question of how successfully we are putting ideas into practice. We’re talking about data-driven school development here. We would actually like to see this openness to evaluation from other schools as well.” After all, data provides strong arguments, for example when dealing with political stakeholders.
Professor Spörer can imagine the collaboration extending beyond the duration of the grant. “A relationship of trust has developed here. The idea of starting with one school while pursuing the vision of transferring the concept to other schools – this ‘think big’ approach impressed me,” Spörer says. “The founders have a very clear vision of where this journey should lead. And changes in the education system require a lot of perseverance.” Next school year, 45 new first-graders will start school. Ultimately, Marille aims to enable its students to complete their entire schooling there – through grade 10 or the Abitur. For Friederike Manzer, however, there is still a need for much more education on what leads to children’s learning success. “Most people have a different idea of what school is like. We encounter a lot of uncertainty and fear of the unknown.” A quiet room where an adult is speaking—for many, that’s a learning situation. “But that says nothing about whether learning is actually taking place,” says the educator. “How do we measure what makes a good school? Do we want to base our assessment solely on PISA results, or isn’t it also about ensuring that young people leave school mentally healthy?”
Professor Spörer sees it as the task of teacher training to ensure that future teachers get to know a wide variety of schools. She can envision building a bridge to Marille for University of Potsdam students in the future, through study tours or theses. Perhaps future generations of teachers will then enter the profession with a wide range of ideas – and dare to rethink school in a completely new way.
Friederike Manzer studied elementary school teaching at the University of Potsdam and, together with colleagues, founded the Marille School in Berlin-Marienfelde in 2025.
Nadine Spörer has been Professor of Psychological Elementary Education at the University of Potsdam since 2010 and is mentoring the school’s founding team.
Marille-Schule: https://www.marille-schule.de/
Initiative „Kreidestaub“: https://www.kreidestaub.net/
This article appeared in the university magazine Portal - Eins 2026 „Inklusion“.