On the 12th of January 2026, the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk hosted the conference titled “Why We Wanted to Change the World? Stories of School Creators from 1989–1995,”. The conference summarized a research project on the origins of private education in Poland.
The schools established between 1989 and 1995, that continue to fulfill their mission of transforming the educational landscape to this day, were presented.
During the conference, speakers presented the research findings on the origins of private schools, discussing their legacy, their impact on contemporary education, and experiences that remain relevant. The program included presentations by the project team, conversations with the school founders, and reflections on the future of education.
The event, summarizing the project financed by the PZU Foundation, was attended by over 200 people, including approximately 100 co-creators of Polish non-public education after 1989.
Community schools were one of the fruits of the Solidarity revolution – a movement striving for profound social change and a shift away from the principles of the communist system. The birth of small businesses, the restoration of self-government, and independent educational initiatives were its most striking manifestations –Senator Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski emphasized during the opening session of the conference. Community schools enabled parents to fulfill their aspirations for an education tailored to the sensitivity and needs of their children.
Przemysław Ruchlewski, Deputy Director of ECS, also spoke about the role of community schools as the driving force of change. “There is no strong civil society without good education. The public education system doesn’t always respond quick enough, but community schools can more efficiently test and implement new solutions,” he emphasized.
Katarzyna Hall, the President of the Good Education Association and the former Minister of Education, compared innovative educational initiatives to fast motorboats that can boldly avoid obstacles and quickly reach new, undiscovered destinations. If they prove to be valuable, the “transatlantic” of public education will eventually follow. She emphasized that the experiences of private schools can inspire the entire education system – “They provide immense joy in creation, and they are worth sharing.”
On the other hand, Kamil Chrzanowski, the President of the Gdańsk Educational Foundation, pointed out that education is not an ad hoc activity or a tool for gaining points. He emphasized that “This is a multiannual project with a clearly defined goal that should be common to all social groups”.
Marcin Rozmarynowski, the Director of the Good Education Academy, spoke about the research conducted by the Good Education Association. The project aimed to create a comprehensive collection of interviews with pioneers of the private education and to gather the history of early schools as inspiration for contemporary educational practitioners.
The research project provides an important look back at the Polish educational experience.
As Marcin Rozmarynowski pointed out, too rarely we look back to the history to better understand the present and draw conclusions for the future. Many solutions developed in the community schools have penetrated into the public system over time. Schools should be learning institutions, ready for mistakes, evaluation, and experimentation. Sharing the experiences of private schools with public institutions is also crucial.
The possibility of changing the world through education was discussed during a panel moderated by Professor Roman Leppert. Professor Maria Mendel from the University of Gdańsk recalled that the goal of the founders of private schools was to raise happy people who could live in relationships with others. She also emphasized the need to demythologize private schools as elitist enterprises – these are schools created collaboratively, and the solutions developed within them constitute a common good.
During the conference, Monika Biblis – the Principal of the Gdansk Autonomous High School, and also Katarzyna Bębenek and Piotr Woldrich – teachers of the Sopot Autonomous Primary School, presented their educational concepts. Both schools, run by the Gdańsk Educational Foundation, have been implementing the concept of educational autonomy for years, demonstrating that school can be a space where students become active participants in their own education.
The autonomy in the curriculum planning, choosing teaching methods, and organizing the school life allows students to express their talents, make decisions, and pursue their passions. This builds responsibility, creativity, and cooperation within the school community. In the Gdansk Autonomous High School – established in 1989 and the Sopot Autonomous Primary School – established in 1995, the idea of the student subjectivity becomes a real educational practice, showing that school can be not only a place of learning in the traditional sense, but also a place of inspiration and creative development.
The perspectives, ideas, and experiences presented during the conference confirm that education remains one of the most powerful tools for changing the world. The decision to establish a school is not only an organizational act, but also a conscious commitment to a timeless tradition of shaping human minds, attitudes, and social responsibility.
The information uses excerpts from M. Polak’s article – Stories from good education.