Head of Education starts summer tour of Jena kindergartens

Johannes Schleußner, newly appointed Head of Department for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, is starting this summer with a special project: He is visiting 22 kindergartens in Jena - and not just to shake hands. Rather, he wants to listen, play along, read aloud and find out what moves the city's youngest children and their teachers.

The tour kicks off next Tuesday, July 3, 2025, with a visit to the Abenteuerland kindergarten. The last date of the summer tour is planned for 28.08.2025 at the Sprachkiste kindergarten. The tour includes 22 stops in total.

"This summer tour enables me to get to know the diversity of the facilities in Jena, to learn more about the wishes of the local staff and to have a chat with the youngest children," says Schleußner, who also wants to bring time for a reading lesson or a little game of soccer.

At the beginning of the year, Schleußner had already launched the student-departmental talks - a series of talks for all Jena schools in which young people can ask the department head questions about local politics and express criticism and requests for improvement.