Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in summer 2013 undergraduate student Elisabeth Lembo interviewed Fr. Pawel Brozyniak, S.J., a Jesuit and founder of Kostka Academy, a Jesuit charter school located in a lower-income neighborhood of Krakow, Poland. In this interview Father Brozyniak discusses his path to founding Kostka, obstacles facing the school, and Kostka's progress since its founding two years ago.

What experiences led you to eventually founding Koska?

I spent two years teaching at a high school in Sicily. This experience was my introduction as to how Jesuit schools worked, for before this time, I had only read in books about how these schools worked. In post-communist Poland there were no Jesuit schools, so we Jesuits went to other countries—I was sent to Italy. During this time for a Jesuit, called regency, we are to use our experience from teaching in Jesuit schools and learning about the work abroad. Some Jesuits do something with this experience, and others do not. From my group, only two of us were educated in the US, and I am the only one with experience in both the European and American education systems.

What were your interactions with the education system in the US?

I had the opportunity to be exposed to Jesuit schools in the United States, specifically Loyola Chicago and the Christo Rey Network. I graduated in 2011 from Loyola Chicago with a master’s in Education, where I had had many great observations and experiences. I also visited Bellarmine in San Francisco. When I was finished in the United States, I was delegated by the Jesuits to work in the field of secondary education. I went to City Hall where I asked for and was given the opportunity to lead a public Jesuit school. This is how Kostka came about!

So Kostka is a public school, but religiously affiliated?

Yes. Under Polish law, public and religious orders can lead public schools using public funding. In the case of our school, we may use our public funding for salaries and basic expenses, but this is it. For example, for renovations that we have now at the school, we must use privately sponsored money. There are 500 public schools under a religious order. During communism, it was forbidden to teach religion in schools, as all religious education was relegated to the parish. Then, with the fall of communism, it was very natural for religion classes, which students were already attending after school at their parishes, to become part of the curriculum in schools.

What is different for teachers here at Kostka?

Teachers in unions typically wish to defend the status quo. They are always ready to fight in defense of their rights, but sometimes students are not thought about. There is no union at Kostka. Under the Ignatius pedagogy of “cura personalis,” we seek to teach how to act with students. All of the parents know that we care about their children. Teachers who work here work for lower salaries, as we are not obligated to follow any union standards for teacher salary.

How are the Jesuit values revealed at Kostka?

We try to show people that they can make a change for themselves and others through their work. We want teachers to know that we need to work better with our students and parents. Almost 95 percent of our teachers were working in the older school that was here and facing closure before Kostka took over. That school was failing. Many parents of the students were furious and asked why we were keeping here at Kostka those teachers who were “destroying our school.” These same teachers are doing great now, and they are ready to work as a team.

What are the greatest challenges faced by the school?

It is easy to have a prestigious school in the center of a big city where there is a lot of wealth, but we want to have a prestigious school on the outskirts of a big city in a low-income neighborhood. One-third of our students are from single parent households. Many of the parents do not see the value of being well educated, and subsequently, we have parents and students with low self-esteem, among other problems. Also, this is a Jesuit school. People in this area aren’t very religious because sometimes they feel that the poor are excluded from the religious community. When we founded this school, it was connected with the church, and many people were suspicious of our intentions. However, we are now building much more confidence within our community.

Do you think that this “suspicion of the Church” is a still a problem today?

Yes. It is a large problem across Europe these days for people to see the church in a negative way. Many people see the Church as hypocritical for having money but not giving money and resources to those who need it. The Church must aim to be more credible in the eyes of the world. We need to see the needs of the people today. The answer to this is to give a clear example of the good work the Church is doing. Aside from classes at this school, Kostka hosts an annual Christmas Eve dinner, as well as retreats and masses, for senior citizens. We have a volunteer program to work with children in kindergarten.

What are, in your opinion, the greatest obstacles faced by the Poland education system today?

Post-communism, the country was not flexible enough in terms of making good changes to schools. There are still huge problems, as some schools have 35 students per class, while other schools only have a few children and need to close down. Here at Kostka we now have 200 more applications than students we can accept. This is a great thing for our application pool, but there are some schools that need these children! Unfortunately, I have heard a number like 7,700 teachers will lose their jobs in Poland this summer. There needs to be more job security here.

What are some clear indicators of successes here at Kostka Gimnazjum?

Just last year, before Kostka took over, this school was about to close because there were not enough students and it was failing. Now we have to reject two hundred applications since there is not enough space. Almost 95 percent of our students will be from this poor community because we must accept everyone who wants to come here from this community. Parents are happy, and just a few days ago some of them came in to give thanks.

How are Jesuit ideals present in the work at Kostka on a daily basis?

People are very grateful if you help them and show that you care for and will accept them. The most important aspect is to always act with respect. We have tutoring available after school for students with lower grades who are invited to catch up. If we show students we have time for them—time they might not get at home due to family issues like violence or drugs and alcohol—then students see we care for them. We have free breakfast programs set up for students. At first, many kids were ashamed of taking the food. Then, it slowly started that kids would invite their friends—and it is a big thing to come to now and has helped build community. This school is very unique.

How do students know education is so important?

In America, I think, it is very common to link education level to identity and place in society. Due to obvious parts of Polish history, when Poland needed to stand up for itself, it has always been very important to put your Polish identity first. Finally, in this day and age, people in the country are beginning to realize the value in being well educated. It is not enough in life simply to be Polish, which leads to stereotypes regarding anti-Semitism or liking to drink. No. Students here are learning that education and work will give them value, a career, and more influence over the course of their lives.

How do you express this importance of education to your students?

I am a Jesuit priest, and I put 12 hours a day in because it is very much a spiritual experience that I feel called to do. Ignatius says to “help souls.” I see a lot of needs here and know I can help. But, the most important thing is to truly know that “to love is to serve.” Pope Francis has said to be simple and to be for others. The most important thing is for kids to feel care. When I worked in Italy at a Jesuit high school, many of the students were from very wealthy families. Yet, despite having beautiful (but empty) houses to go home to, the students preferred to stay after school to do homework. We don’t have WiFi here for a reason—we want the students to learn to socialize face-to-face! The fact is, there is a decrease in Jesuits across Europe. We must be creative in our work in order to save our identity. While some Catholic schools are closed to different religions, we are not. One of our students, an Orthodox Jew from Georgia, said this is the best school she has ever attended. This shows that we are open to everyone and that we are interested in giving a good education.

What are the greatest institutional challenges here?

In America there is a very long tradition in schools for alumni to give money. People come to Poland and think they are seeing “old Europe” when, in reality, in Krakow, it is old buildings with new people. Poland has gone through a history of wars, suppressions, and changing borders. Unlike the [United] States, where schools have large alumni networks with generations of the same family going to the same school, we do not have this in Poland. In fact, decades ago during communism, people were taught lies in their schools and were not proud—they were being taught the truth at home and lies at school. There was a great school near Przemysl, but it was closed during communism and hasn’t been in existence for the past 50 years. This lack of an alumni network that systems such as Christo Rey enjoy is where we have much less support. We want Kostka to become a school that people are proud to graduate from and that they want their grandchildren to go to years later. We are just beginning this legacy now, rather than 50 years ago!