For 15 years you have been the head of one of the best high schools in the Lodz province. What are you most proud of?
I'm proud of many achievements of the school, mainly of the very good results in exams and the fact that for the last 15 years we've been consistently ranked among the best high schools in the Lodz province and even in Poland. However, I derive particular satisfaction from working with outstanding teachers – my colleagues who are extremely dedicated to their profession and very much involved in the effort of educating young people.
The first graduates of the PLO PŁ already have considerable professional achievements and many of them have studied abroad. How many graduates does PLO PŁ have at present? How does the school keep in touch with them?
Currently, we already have over 1000 graduates. Many of them study at universities abroad. When the National Education Day is coming up, we receive text messages with wishes from all over the world. Our school's tradition includes an unusual graduation, when I proudly announce: "I bid you farewell as students of the school and welcome you to the elite club of graduates of the Public High School of Lodz University of Technology" and then the uniforms are taken off, which marks the symbolic transformation of a student, a member of the school community into an adult – a prudent and serious graduate. It is a nice tradition and I always look forward to this moment.
Later, our graduates go all over the world and only occasionally do we hear about their successes. Some work in large corporations, others remain at universities abroad, writing their doctorates. There are also really many medical students and graduates who I am in close contact with.
The school’s strength is a 100% pass rate in the secondary school leaving exam. What do you think the reason for this success is?
We work with young people who are highly motivated to learn and who want to achieve success, therefore it is much easier for us to generate good results at the secondary school leaving exam. However, enthusiasm for learning is not everything. It must be supported by hard work and wise teacher-pedagogical support. The school is strongly oriented towards science subjects, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science, and without the help of talented and experienced teachers it would be difficult to achieve the highest results in the province. We also run additional classes, interest groups that broaden the knowledge and prepare our students for the secondary school leaving exam.
During the 15 years of its existence, the school has risen to the top of the rankings, overtaking high schools with long traditions. What is your recipe for such a rapid promotion?
When I was creating the school strategy, at the beginning of its existence, I did not attach importance to rankings. I was more interested in a good result of the secondary school final exam. First of all, it was necessary to prepare students for the secondary school final exam, and only then to take care of getting them ready for competitions. Working with gifted students is very absorbing and requires not only substantive knowledge, but also cooperation with the university in many areas. Lodz University of Technology always offers us such assistance. Undoubtedly, the success of the school has been influenced by the fact that it is managed by the University. Lodz University of Technology, with its leading position in the country, has guaranteed the success of this venture from the beginning. I am grateful to the university authorities for allowing me to realize my pedagogical and educational ideas. I am grateful to the university authorities for allowing me to realize my pedagogical and educational ideas. Rectors and vice-rectors, in their respective office terms, have always been helpful to me.
The school accepts very good students who have certain requirements regarding the educational process. How do you try to attract the best graduates from elementary schools?
We always try to prepare a special offer that will encourage eighth-graders to choose our school. We cooperate with various faculties of Lodz University of Technology and I think that this is of great importance for our future students. We also have an offer of extracurricular activities: physics, chemistry, biology and humanities clubs. There is also the School Debate Society, where students discuss the most important issues concerning our planet during classes.
This year there will be as many as five first-year classes of students. How many of them are currently studying at the PLO PŁ?
At present, there are 457 students in classes with extended curricula in math and physics, mathematics and chemistry, or mathematics, biology and chemistry combined. This year we are also introducing a class with an extension in IT and programming. The premises do not allow us to open any more classes. Personally, I am in favor of a small school, a very elite one, which is very difficult to get into. However, due to the great popularity of the high school, life has verified my position on this matter.
Our students are involved in many social activities. There is the Volunteer Club which initiates a number of activities. Which of the activities have been particularly memorable for you?
At our school, in addition to teaching, we place great emphasis on student integration and social sensitivity. That's why I take numerous actions aimed at activating students to act for the benefit of others. For me, the most spectacular actions are “Licea dla Krwinki" ("High Schools for Blood Cells") - the run in 3 Maja Park and wise, compassionate, empathetic and committed help for refugees from Ukraine. We are taking care of about 20 people from different parts of the war zone, but most of all we support our partner school in Kiev.
One of the attractions of our high school is the collaboration with partner schools in Europe and the opportunity to participate in exchange programs.
Obviously, the pandemic and online teaching have greatly reduced exchange opportunities, but certainly one of the priority tasks for the new school year will be to rebuild cooperation with our partners. An exchange with a school in Emden (Germany) is already planned for September 2022. We also cooperated with schools in Kiev (Ukraine) and Veliky Novgorod (Russia). Now, due to the complicated geopolitical situation of our eastern neighbors, we have to verify this cooperation very seriously. We also run exchange programmes with schools in Spain, Sweden and Great Britain, and now we're trying to find a French-speaking partner for our school together with the IFE of TUL and the French Embassy. I strongly believe that a friend of our school, Prof. Wojciech Wolf, Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will play a key role in these contacts. We are counting on it!
Students of the PLO PŁ organize the Explory Festival for their own research projects. On the school premises there is a Newton Room, until recently the only one in Poland, which allows students to consolidate knowledge of physics and mathematics in an unusual way. These are just some of your exceptional educational initiatives.
Cooperation with the Boeing Company and the non-profit First Scandinavia foundation has resulted in the project of creating the only Newton Room in Poland – a classroom where theoretical knowledge gained during lessons may find practical application. The educational program of this project places great emphasis on teaching STEM subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science) and so-called soft skills. Three thematic modules are implemented: aviation, biofuels as well as computers and their environment. The classes are extremely inspiring and are very popular among students of Lodz schools.
A celebration of the 15th anniversary of the High School is planned in mid-June. What attractions is the school preparing?
The 15th anniversary of the school is planned in a galactic fashion, so I suppose that the attractions will be cosmic as well. But what exactly is going to happen on that day, I do not know. It will be a big surprise for me and all the participants of our intergalactic celebrations which will take place on June 10th.
Małgorzata Trocha