The Janusz Korczak II General Secondary School is a school with traditions that focuses on modernity. The school implements the “School Without Violence” and “School with Class” programs. It has a 100% pass rate for the matura examination and a high indicator measuring knowledge growth (EWD). In an interview, Mirosław Sakowski talks about how to manage a good secondary school and how the institution is becoming a leader among general secondary schools in Bolesławiec.
What have you prepared for the students of the II General Secondary School?
Mirosław Sakowski: – We are constantly developing. Among the most important things, I would mention funding for teachers so that they can learn a second language. In the future, our school will have bilingual classes and prepare students for the International Baccalaureate. These are concrete plans; we have a chance to obtain around 35,000 euros from Erasmus+ for this purpose. We have begun cooperating with a school in Bosnia and are carrying out the “Balkan Tea” project in cooperation with the University of Wrocław. In June, students from Ukraine will come to us for an exchange; in the autumn, we hosted students from Hungary. We are applying for a certificate as a school supporting talented students. We are in the process of replacing the chemical fume hood in the laboratory. The laboratory will be modern and will certainly help educate many excellent chemists. We are expanding our corridor galleries: there is a new gallery devoted to Bohdan Pieliński, an outstanding Bolesławiec local-government official and collector of radio-technology memorabilia. I have established cooperation with BOK-MCC, and we have an unusual exhibition of works from the International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium. It was my dream to create a school choir, and Aleksander Samostrokow from the School of Music is auditioning students to establish one. I believe this is an interesting opportunity for musically gifted middle-school students.
In your opinion, what attracts middle-school students to the II General Secondary School the most?
We have many advantages. Every middle-school student is probably guided by their own needs, but my idea for inviting the best students to our school is an attractive scholarship offer. Every high-achieving middle-school student with a high average grade will receive a scholarship from us—provided, of course, that they maintain their achievements in competitions and Olympiads and confirm them with a high grade average in the first year of our school.
Do you already have such scholarship holders?
Yes. I would mention the theatrically gifted Roksana Salwerowicz, who qualified among the eleven best amateur actors at the MOTYF National Monodrama Festival in Tychy, and Martyna Stasik. Last year, she took third place for her description of Gliniada as a European event; this year, she improved her result and took second place in the “Cultural Correspondent” competition organized by the Center for Culture and Art in Wrocław.
When encouraging middle-school students to choose your school, you also emphasize the high level of mathematics teaching.
Our school pulses with mathematics. We engage with this field not only during lessons; all students have the opportunity to take part in mathematics competitions.
Several dozen students from our school took part in the international online mathematics competition Meridian Mathematics Competition (MMC). Six students advanced to the final, including Maciej Koroluk from the first year, who placed 70th nationally. Last school year, around 130 students also entered the nationwide Oxford competition and the Polish Mathematical Championships project. In the latter competition, Zofia Lenkiewicz, a third-year student, took first place in the voivodeship and 29th nationally.
Have you achieved other successes in Olympiads?
Quite a few. Students have won honors in competitions, including history and literature competitions, the Entrepreneurship Olympiad, the Tourism and Sightseeing Tournament, as well as recitation and journalism competitions. Every student can find something here for themselves and develop their talents and interests.
How does the school prepare students for the matura examination?
We have a 100% matura pass rate. We measure the school's contribution to preparing students for the matura using the EWD method, or educational added value. This is a nationwide project that presents reliable results concerning students' knowledge growth. In our case, the positive EWD value clearly shows that we achieve above-average teaching effectiveness nationally. This is particularly evident in mathematics and science subjects—mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology and geography—as well as in mathematics itself. This does not mean, however, that the school achieves excellent results only in mathematics and science subjects. Teaching effectiveness is also evident in the humanities—Polish, history and civics—and in Polish itself. We maintain our standards and are a successful school.
So what do your successes look like in other areas?
One would immediately want to mention sports, because the II General Secondary School offers excellent conditions for practicing various sports. We have a gym, a sports hall and a modern Orlik sports field. Our students achieve high places in numerous nationwide sports competitions; I will mention only the Swedish relay team's fifth place in Poland, as well as the successes of our basketball players, volleyball players and track-and-field athletes in competitions in Lower Silesia. This year, the girls' indoor football team can boast excellent results. Four of our young bridge players returned with two trophies from the Lower Silesian School Youth League. As a team, they won second place in Milicz; in pairs, they took first place.
In your leaflet advertising the II General Secondary School, you write: education is not everything…
…and “II LO – more than a school.” As a school open to students' diverse needs, we give them the opportunity to develop their passions and interests. Our own gallery named after Michał Twerd was created for artists from our school. Exhibitions of photography, painting and sculpture have become a hallmark of the II General Secondary School. Students can take part in a theater club, learn languages and join sports clubs.
The active student council organizes sweet breaks, karaoke and many other enjoyable activities. We also organize numerous tourist and sightseeing trips for our students. Students take part in language camps and exchanges; they have already visited Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands. Our school also has an elevator and is the only upper-secondary school in Bolesławiec adapted for students with disabilities.
The school has received the titles “School with Class,” “School Without Violence” and “Safe School.” All this, along with many other things that there is no room to discuss in this interview, means that the II General Secondary School offers the best opportunity for middle-school students, and our young people achieve success.