“I heard that the facilities at Dosol School are very poor. Please show the video to help parents understand.”
“I am worried whether the evacuation route for Dosol School students on the 5th floor will be secured in the event of a fire, earthquake, etc.”
A parent information session regarding the temporary relocation of the school held at Dobong Elementary School in Dobong-gu, Seoul on the 21st of last month. It was an event to explain the plan to move to the closed site of nearby Dobong High School for two years starting next year in order to remodel the old school building. Many parents asked questions about Dosol School, not Dobong Elementary School, where their children attend, or Dobong High School, where they will be used as temporary teachers. Seoul Dosol School is a special school located about 2km away from Dobong Elementary School, and students from the two schools will soon become ‘neighbors under the same roof.’ This is because the elementary school students at Dosol School are also planning to temporarily reside at Dobong High School, located midway on the road to Dobong Elementary School, for school renovation.
It was only a month ago that the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced a policy for Dobong Elementary School and Dosol School to share the Dobong High School site. If we recall the case of Seojin School in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, which received social attention through the so-called ‘knee appeal’ of special school parents, a backlash from Dobong Elementary parents is also expected. However, there was no message of ‘anti-association’. Rather, questions were asked to understand and help the situation of Dosol School and its students.
The coexistence of Dobong Elementary School and Dosol School Elementary School was realized based on this consideration. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 27th that starting in March 2025, the 1st to 4th floors of Dobong High School will be used by Dobong Elementary School, and the 5th floor will be used by Dosol School Elementary School. Dobong High School is the first general high school in Seoul to close due to a decrease in the number of students and will close in February next year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education gave meaning to this event, saying, “A beautiful journey between disabled and non-disabled students begins.”
Both schools that moved under one roof were in need of educational space. Dobong Elementary School, which opened in 1966, needed a building to be used as a temporary school building for two years while the Green Smart Future School project, which completely improved old facilities, was carried out. Dosol School, which opened as a private ‘Ingang School’ in 1971, was converted to a public school in 2019, but has continued to experience space shortage issues. The classroom area is 32㎡, which is half that of a regular public school. The cafeteria located in the basement did not have an elevator, so students in wheelchairs had to be supported to move around, and even that space was so small that they had to eat in three shifts. School renovation was inevitable, and a place to disperse students was needed.
Although the two schools have a common goal, the Office of Education did not pursue the project with both sides in mind from the beginning. After the policy of closing Dobong High School in Seoul was decided in August of last year, Dobong Elementary School was decided to be the first to use the closed Dobong짱구카지노 주소 High School site as a temporary school in December of the same year. Dobong Elementary School has been inspecting the Dobong High School site since the first half of this year and has established its own plan to use temporary teachers. Meanwhile, Dosol School requested the city office of education to move the elementary school to Dobong High School in August, and the city office of education prepared a plan at the end of August for Dobong Elementary School to use the 1st to 4th floors and Dosol School to use the 5th floor. A plan was also made to separate the routes, with the front gate being used by Dosol School and the back gate being used by Dobong Elementary School students.
The guardians of Dobong Elementary School were also upset at first by the sudden change in plans. This is because they commute to a new space and children from other schools also share the same space. However, the school, parents’ association executives, and alumni association came together to agree on ‘coexistence’ and began persuading parents.
Eventually, more and more guardians agreed that integration and coexistence were helpful for children’s education. Lee Jun-gyu, principal of Dobong Elementary School, said, “After a while, some of the guardians first suggested, ‘If we keep emphasizing the separation of special and general education, it will also harm the children (those who need special education) at our school. Let’s think about going beyond the separation.’ “I did it,” he said. Bang Mi-hyun, president of the Dobong Elementary School Guardians’ Association, said, “There are no guardians who say they will transfer schools or not be able to attend school due to this decision. Even during the information session, a question was asked about what if our children harm the children of Dosol School.” .
Dobong Elementary School Vice Principal Yoo Mi-sook welcomed Dobong Elementary’s decision, saying, “Actually, I thought (the relocation to Dobong High School) would be very difficult, but I am very thankful that Dobong Elementary and parents agreed to do the same.” Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon said, “Members of the two schools have shown a sense of community of coexistence that will complete a beautiful partnership,” and she said, “We will spare no effort in supporting the improvement of facilities and joint operation of the two schools so that they can all be stable.”
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