The meeting of alumni of the Post-Graduate Studies for Educational Leaders (SPLO) took place in Warsaw on June 10-11, 2015. It was attended by 75 alumni, representatives of the program partners, instructors and lecturers. The special guest included Vice Minister of Education Joanna Berdzik.
Vice Minister of Education Joanna Berdzik was the first manager of SPLO and she gave them their original shape. The organizers and partners of the initiative were represented by President of the Center for Citizenship Education Dr. Jacek Strzemieczny; Danuta Sterna, expert on formative assessment; Marta Dobrzyńska, director of the “Learning Schools” Program; and Katarzyna Świątkiewicz representing the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. All participants emphasized that the change at school starts with the change of the headmaster’s attitude and that all people present at the meeting are the elite changing the Polish school reality. This change is visible through better results of teaching, less problems with class attendance, revival of teachers cooperation – friendly observation and open doors to the classes. And also through the parents who react to the headmasters’ attitude with more involvement into the school activities.
The meeting was attended by the SPLO managers: Prof. Jan Potworowski and Laura Piotrowska, who work together with the group of SPLO alumni-consultants to introduce the change at the current students’ schools. The meeting made a good opportunity to talk on the issues that are critical for headmasters, such as how to share the leadership with the teachers, how to motivate and assess, or what is the role of a headmaster, students and teachers in the learning and teaching processes. The alumni could also learn the practice of observing the selected students and analyze the students’ works. During the SPLO team discussions with the alumni, many postulates and ideas of how to develop the cooperation after the completion of studies were voiced.
There were also opportunities to present the achievements of schools which have introduced the change with the support of the “Learning Schools” Program. Jolanta Kuropatwa, headmistress of Czesław Miłosz Junior Secondary School at Topola Królewska, Barbara Chylewska, headmistress of Mikołaj Kopernik Schools Complex in Ostrowiec, Krystyna Jakubowska, headmistress of Elementary School No 143 in Warsaw and Urszula Skrzypczak, headmistress of Stanisław Staszic Elementary School No 1 at Piastów spoke about their way of development.
The Post-Graduate Studies for Educational Leaders are one of the components of the “Learning Schools” (LES) Program that has been implemented by the Center for Citizenship Education Foundation jointly with the Polish-American Freedom Foundation since 2000. Since 2007, the Post-Graduate Studies for Educational Leaders have been carried out in cooperation with Collegium Civitas and the National Association of Management Staff in Education. So far almost 300 headmasters and vice headmasters of schools at all levels have graduated from these postgraduate studies.
More information about SPLO can be found at:
