We interview Magdalena Wontek – headmaster of “Your Future” Private School Complex in Sosnowiec, president of the National Non-State Education Forum, nominated for the title of Charismatic Woman. Admissions for this unique school she created 30 years ago especially for her son and his friends begin and end as early as 1 September… of the previous year.
How are you so charismatic?
Charisma is unlearnable, it’s something you’re naturally born with. I think of it as a certain combination of qualities, behaviour, a way of being that makes someone outstanding. You definitely have to be confident and audacious in decision-making. Charisma is not about staff management, it’s about naturally attracting the attention of another person. This cannot be trained, there are no helpful tools to master charisma. What’s learnable is how to make use of it for a good purpose. I have never been a wallflower who went unnoticed. I‘ve had the ease of making contacts. Without charisma, I wouldn’t have set up a private school and run it for 30 years.
Are you a teacher by education?
I’m a sociologist by training, but a pedagogue by vocation. I graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Silesia. After graduating, I was offered a job at the Silesian University of Technology. I taught human resources management there. These were pioneering classes in the early 1990s, so I had to master this knowledge myself. Now it helps me recognise the teachers’ potential and take care of them so that they perform their duties in the best possible way. This might be the source of my success.
How did you come up with the idea of setting up a private school?
It was 1992, when my son went to the first class of a private school in Sosnowiec. The first year was sensational, I was happy with the decision I had made. Unfortunately, the second class turned out to be a failure.
I thought there were no people immune to a sudden influx of cash. It was us, the parents, who did great advertising for the school, and after a year, the headmistress started putting the money by and giving up lots of things offered at that time. That’s when the parents obliged me to find a good private school that would admit our whole class to.
During the search, one of the headmistresses hearing about my requirements – because I already had a vision of what such a private school should look like – stated that none of the existing schools would meet my expectations and it would be best if… I set one up myself. And that’s what happened.
So I found suitable premises and took action. On June 26, 1994, the Private Elementary School No. 5 in Sosnowiec was entered into the register of non-state schools and was granted the status of a public school by the decision of the School Superintendent in Katowice. It was an 8-year school my son completed.
What made the school outstanding?
Not only didactic issues I had in mind, but also instilling important principles into learners, helpful later in their adult life. I knew this required the appropriate environment. At the time, classes consisted of no more than 12 pupils. I assembled a team of teachers using interesting forms and unconventional working methods.
The pride of the school is its points-based percentage grading system of assessing knowledge and skills. This means that pupils do not receive grades, but points, which in turn are converted into percentages.
I have emphasised computer science to be taught from the first grade, and intensive language teaching. Since the beginning of the school, English has been taught not in a class system, but in groups formed according to language skills. When a pupil learns English five hours week at school, the parent doesn’t have to invest in further courses or private lessons.
I also wanted the school to take care of the pupils comprehensively. Apart from in-school classes, the children attend concerts, theatre performances, workshops or classes outside, at the Youth Palace in Katowice. Each year, we attend a green school. And it’s amazing to see how well the first-grade kids get along and play with the eighth-graders, forming “families”, digging in the sand together or dancing at discos.
The very beginnings were not easy. 22 pupils started education at our school in September 1994. In 1999, as a result of a reform, we transformed the primary school into a six-year school and established a middle school, a gymnasium in other words. In order to meet parents’ expectations, we opened a private kindergarten “Skrzaty z Przyszłości” (Dwarfs from the Future), and in 2002 we opened a Multimedia Private Secondary School, educating computer specialists. It existed until 2013. As a confirmation of the high level of our activities, we have been awarded many prizes and certificates, such as the title of ‘Classy School’ or the ‘Silesian Quality School’ certificate. I now formally run a kindergarten and two primary schools – my son partners me in managing one of those. Moreover,
I have always relied on modern equipment. We were probably the first school in Sosnowiec to have interactive whiteboards. Now we have 30 classrooms at our disposal, equipped with interactive monitors, subject labs such as chemistry or IT, a gym.
For about 3 years now, we’ve been positioned first in the rankings of Sosnowiec schools. We are recognised specialists in teaching children with sensory integration disorders, aspergers or aphasia.
Parents are certain they can always count on us, especially in difficult times, such as a pandemic. Without waiting for ordinances and decisions from those in power, we have started full ‘face-to-face’ distance learning from the first day the schools closed.
We also make sure that parents integrate with each other and with the teachers; my deputy director Basia invents themed meetings (e.g. the last one was ‘Policemen and Thieves’), which we have a lot of fun at and during which we don’t discuss the children’s progress. We also organise joint outings to the theatre (teachers and parents). More than 120 parents spent Sunday evening with us at the Zagłębie Theatre for “Taming of the Shrew”!
For many years now, our school has also cooperated with the Social Services Centre in Sosnowiec, where pupils often visit the elderly and spend time with them by talking, playing chess, sharing a smile, but – above all – they learn sensitivity and empathy.
How many people do you employ? What are the selection criteria?
We have 430 pupils and more than 50 staff members. Some of them have been working with me since the beginning of the school, almost 30 years. We’ve built a good, friendly relationship and I always find the time for them. The teachers know they can come to me with any issue, including private ones. The walls of my office have already heard many things – from betrayals, divorces, illnesses to happy moments such as proposal or amazing journeys.
When hiring teachers, in addition to qualifications and merit issues I trust my intuition. From the very beginning, I make my expectations clear – a passionate teacher loving working with children. I sign the first contract for a fixed period, particularly for one year. During this time, both parties verify whether they want to continue cooperation.
Do you still teach?
In high school years, I taught basic entrepreneurship; now seventh-graders are being introduced to mainstream economics, monetary policy, the basics of setting up their own business – today’s necessary topics to consciously function within society. I hope that in the future our pupils, equipped with this knowledge and skills, will find their way in a complex reality.
What are the origins of your entrepreneurship passion?
I used to laugh with my mother that I inherited it from her along with my dad’s intelligence. I come from a family of bakers who ran their businesses from my great-grandparents to my grandparents, parents, uncles. When my mother retired, I took over the bakery. Together with my son, who graduated in pharmacy, we set up three pharmacies. Over time, however, I gave up these businesses – I gave my heart to school. I’m doing a great job as a constructor: I built the first school, one house, another house, renovated three pharmacies, and I’m still adding on to something – currently more classrooms, because, in spite of moving to a huge new building, we found we were running out of rooms!
The school is privately owned. Do you receive any funding?
In Poland, schools are divided into public and non-public. We are a non-public school – a private school, i.e. run by an individual. We are licensed as a public school, so money follows a child, but less than in state institutions, despite the same responsibility, issuing certificates on the same forms, ordering stamps from the same mint, and being subject to the same supervision by the school superintendent.
The “Your Future» (Twoja Przyszłość) Private School Complex is one of the most successful educational institutions in the Zagłębie region. What are you most proud of?
It’s impossible to choose just one thing. I’m proud of the fact that we’re still in the market, despite many turbulences. This is all the success of my teachers, whose approach to pupils convinces successive generations of parents to choose us. For almost 25 years we have belonged, as the only school in Sosnowiec, to the Association of the National Non-State Education Forum and we cooperate with other schools. This allows teachers, as well as learners, to exchange experiences, share knowledge. My educators create their own programmes, improve their competences.
I’m now myself completing a coaching course designed for school principals. I hope it to help me further improve my work performance, improve communication in school as well as in my private life.
I’m also pleased with the increasing number of students. Recruitment for the next school year starts on 1 September and within just one day the enrolment is completed!
All my activities giving me great satisfaction have also been recognised regionally and nationally. In 2005, I was awarded the title of ‘Zagłębie Manager’, in 2009 I received the medal of the National Education Commission, in 2013 – Silver Cross of Merit, in 2017 I won the Lady Business Club Business Women Foundation Poll, in 2018, the Children’s Ombudsman awarded me the “Infantis Dignitati Defensori” (Defender of the Dignity of the Child) medal for all my work on behalf of children and young people.
I am also proud to have been a member of KFON (National Non-State Education Forum) for more than 20 years now, first as a member, then as treasurer, and for the last two years as a president. There are passionate people treating schools as their mission. We have directors of kindergartens, primary schools, adult trade schools and two universities. We communicate and help each other, also by exchanging information. We all act socially, we all are willing to change something in Polish education, even though the last years haven’t been easy – the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the Polish Deal, Lex Czarnek. This makes me even more happy that we manage to persevere with our chosen goals, defending the interests of schools. I’m proud of the fact that I have repeatedly faced obstacles and difficult situations without fear of failure.
What are your plans?
I want to expand the school and create more places for more young people and for broadly understood good education. After that, I will be slowly stepping back from the headship. I have good successors. However, I won’t give up on being part of the school and the responsibility I’ve had. I look ahead with optimism. I know many new challenges await me. My whole adult life I also devoted to helping poor dogs, and many of them have found a good home at our school. I’d like to find more time to be able to get more involved in this activity.
How do you recharge your batteries?
Many years ago I was lucky to meet an amazing woman, a quantum trainer. Under her guidance, I went through a phase of change. It was very difficult, but I achieved inner peace. To this day, when having a difficult time, I can always use her help. I also love travelling. My second place on Earth is Spain. It’s a country having lots to offer. Being there, I truly enjoy the sun, the sea and the sand.
I’m also energised by knowing that the school is not just my business, that I have created a unique and important project. I gratefully thank life for what I have, but I’m not going to stop there.
Dorota Kolano
Beata Sekuła
