The response concerns information published on 6 September: They did not want the first-grade classes divided because they suspected that “influential parents” had imposed it

In response to a journalistic inquiry concerning the division of first-grade pupils into classes, I am describing the entire sequence of events.
During the summer, before the meeting of the Teaching Council, the future first-grade form teachers made an initial allocation of pupils to classes. They took the following criteria into account:

A comparable number of pupils wherever possible:

  • in each class, including the number of girls and boys
  • with similar educational abilities and intellectual potential (in accordance with the information obtained by the school)
  • with opinions and assessments
  • local and commuting pupils

The pupil lists were approved by the Teaching Council on 28 August.

After the pupil lists were published, some parents strongly pressed for their child to be transferred from one class to another, giving various reasons for their requests, although most often citing the separation of their child from their best friend from preschool, etc. When this became “commonplace,” I decided to put an end to this type of behaviour and to pressure from various parents.

On 4 September, I announced that an extraordinary meeting of the parents of first-grade pupils would take place on 5 September. At the meeting, I stated that the class allocation published after the August Teaching Council meeting would remain in force—with a minor, justified modification.

Both the school counsellor and I explained that the children would make new friends, get to know one another quickly and integrate. None of the parents objected to my decision, and to date no one has come forward with complaints regarding the children’s lists.

The lists approved by the Teaching Council, as well as the lists later modified in both classes, included children from various backgrounds and families. Each class included similar proportions of children of “police officers, municipality employees, and even teachers” (the children of police officers and municipality employees also have to attend school somewhere).

At school, all pupils are treated equally and have the same rights and obligations. I consider the allegation that the requests of “influential parents” were taken into account when assigning their children to one of the classes, etc., to be unfounded. There are no so-called “influential parents” at our school, and none of us views people through such a lens. We are guided solely by the children’s welfare; it is the most important thing to us. Parents were told that children must not be categorised as better or worse, nor should people speak in a highly inappropriate way about pupils from one of the classes.

I think that emotions are now subsiding. We will, of course, observe how the pupils function in both classes and will certainly do everything possible to ensure that the children feel comfortable in their class group. If any parent saw the situation differently, they had a mistaken impression. Could someone’s insecurities be involved?

Yours sincerely, Urszula Jasińska – headmistress of Zespół Szkół w Osiecznicy im. Jana Pawła II

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