Dąbrówka High School (Poznań)
Dąbrówki w Poznaniu, in abbreviated version known also as VII LO or colloquially simply as Dąbrówka) is a public school, located in the Poznań district of Jeżyce; it offers education to teenagers above 15 years of age.
When in late 1918 political power in Poznań was claimed by the local Polish structures of Naczelna Rada Ludowa, all city schools for girls, the so-called Höhere Mädchenschule, were German in terms of instruction language and general outlook.
In the early 1919 the establishment was paralyzed by a conflict between German staff and the NRL delegate, Maria Swinarska, tasked with introducing instruction in Polish.
In May the Polish schooling board, Prowincjonalne Kolegium Szkolne, decided to break with the Luisian tradition, perceived as tantamount to Germanisation.
In somewhat obscure circumstances the school was renamed after a medieval princess Dąbrówka;[2] the choice was supposed to underline patriotically Polish, anti-German and regional identity.
Official ceremony emphasized re-launch rather than continuity; the 40-year-old premises taken over from Luisenschule were consecrated and following a solemn parade across the city the students joined erection of the Liberty Mound.
[11] A huge number of candidates triggered opening of a new similar female school in the Łazarz district, where some of the students admitted have been re-directed.
The key feature of the school's history in the interwar period was gradual homogenization of the curriculum; both decades, but especially the 1920s, are marked by constant effort to standardize and unify the teaching formula.
[30] Recruitment was based on entry exams; the girls wore black uniforms with a beret and white embroidery, the tuition fee was 110 zł.
[39] When most of Poznań was seized by the Red Army yet with the German troops still holding out in the Citadel, some teachers approached the nascent Polish administration about re-opening of the school;[40] few days later the Młyńska premises were almost entirely destroyed during the final phase of the battle.
[48] At that time the heavily damaged building at Młyńska Street was refurbished and turned into a dormitory for non-resident girls of Poznań colleges.
[52] Mounting political pressure introduced new rituals,[53] modifications of curriculum,[54] left-wing youth organizations[55] and staff changes,[56] which in the late 1940s resulted in totally new profile of the institution.
[68] The premises were entirely re-furbished in 1965; central heating replaced previous old-fashioned systems,[69] floors were re-done and electricity wiring got modernized;[70] a canteen was opened, though as there was no kitchen meals were delivered by contracted-out providers.
[71] The mid-1960s is also the last period when the school enjoyed prestigious status; as centrally located and the oldest one in Poznań, it was frequently visited by officials and the girls used to represent the city youth at various state and local galas.
In the mid-1970s it was planned to move the establishment to the Rataje district, where a new schooling compound was being constructed from scratch; however, in unclear circumstances in 1978 the buildings were allocated to a newly opened lyceum.
[89] A large[90] December 13, 1985 gathering of students marking the 4th anniversary of martial law decree produced disciplinary measures, though no-one has been expelled.
[96] An initiative which would prove of high importance later was the launch of a broadened curriculum of German in 1987; Dąbrówka commenced collaboration with a school from West Berlin, resulting in students’ exchange starting the year of 1988.
[97] Banking on earlier enhanced German curriculum experience, in the 1994/95 schooling year Dąbrówka opened a bi-lingual Polish-German unit; apart from a similar Polish-French one, operated by the Marcinkowski College, the initiative was a unique one in Poznań and in the Wielkopolska region.
[98] Its scope was systematically broadened; in the late 1990s the school embarked also on a number of programs financed by the Bundesrepublik and related to promotion of German culture and language.
Dąbrówka commenced courses preparing for the Deutsches Sprachdiplom exam, which was for the first time offered in 1999; since then DSD II has been crowning the teaching of German in the school every year.
[112] Around that time Dąbrówka engaged in Deutsch Wagen Tour scheme, co-organized internationally by Goethe-Institut, German embassies around the world and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst .
[117] The college is formally managed by the municipality of Poznań, supervised by the regional schooling board; according to the financial report from 2018 its assets amounted to $1,44m.
[125] Few independent institutions in Poland compile nationwide ratings of colleges in terms of their educational performance; in these charts Dąbrówka usually ranks among mid-range schools in Poznań.
[148] Its unique feature is the bi-lingual profile, linked to the DFD II exams offered;[149] in 2017 no college in the Wielkopolska region outperformed Dąbrówka in terms of German language matura results.
[150] On the other hand, matura results in math, Polish, non-German modern languages and other subjects in Dąbrówka are visibly worse than in the best Poznań colleges.
