I Społeczna Szkoła Podstawowa im. Unii Europejskiej is an independent primary school, governed by a citizens' association, which offers education to nearly 200 students aged 6-14 (after education system reform of 2017).
The school is located in Zamość (population ca.65000) in the predominantly rural area near the Polish eastern border. The town and the surrounding area are characterized by scarce economic activity. The unemployment rate is high and young people tend to leave the region because of poor employment perspectives. That is why students and their parents appreciate any educational activities from the earliest stage aiming at training and improving qualifications as they can be an investment in their future.
Our students are very open-minded, active and eager to explore the world around them. They are interested in environmental and scientific issues, ready to deepen their knowledge of the world around them despite poor school facilities. To meet the students and parents’ expectations the school offers a wide variety of educational activities aiming at broadening the students’ competence in the fields of maths, science, history, literature, music, sports, art and foreign languages with English and German as the main ones. Participating in a foreign cooperation program will enable them to improve their practical scientific skills, exchange ideas, solve problems creatively and show them the importance of cooperation fostering understanding and respect for other cultures and nations.
The project will increase the teachers’ qualifications on how to encourage students to apply scientific knowledge in everyday life, with emphasis on energy saving issues. It will provide them with necessary tools to introduce innovative methods of teaching into the school curriculum, with special emphasis on teaching entrepreneurial skills incorporated with science. It will overlap with and complement our everyday activities which result from the following priorities of our school: providing high standards of teaching services, arousing students’ interests in various fields of education in spite of very poor facilities, increasing their sense of initiative and digital competence, making them aware of the value of their own and other European cultures and stimulating them to take more active part in local community doings and become more responsible EU citizens.