For most educators, mid-October is a time for first in-class trepidations — the summer drowsiness is over and the material we’ve ran through is enough of a mid-class Goliath to send our students on a heroic quest that measures their ability to head the warnings of the gods of knowledge. For our 2026 teacher cohort, it was a bit different—we plucked them from their role as test administrators, got them on a plane, and flew them to Warsaw to test them on their abilities to adapt to adversity and respect cultural differences.
At last, we came together in person for a welcoming ceremony, followed by a presentation on the Polish educational context lead by the lovely Kornelia, Co-founder and Chief of Programs & Impact at Teach for Poland.
We were also reminded of the purpose of the LEAD-IN project and its distinctive approach to developing the community's readiness to take on the challenges of the diverse classroom today. The presentation was delivered by representatives of KdG.
After the distribution of our assignments for Day 2, we sat down for dinner. Getting to know each other was key in developing a familial bond that is the foundation of the network of support we are building here, at LEAD-IN.
DAY 1: Love, Warsaw
To understand the educational context of the country we were visiting, our first job was to get to know our host—the capital city of Poland. To do so, Teach for Poland had organised a sightseeing tour that took us by the Royal Castle, the old Market Square, the Barbican towers and more.
DAY 2: School Visits
On the second day of our visit we got to work in the field. The country delegations were regrouped into international teams and sent off to five educational institutions: a sociotherapy centre, a counselling centre, and three schools that offer different approaches to modern inclusive education.
Youth Sociotherapy Centre No. 1 ‘SOS’
“Association with the values, which had arisen as a result of student and parent feedback over the years, was the first and foremost criteria for hiring personnel. Everything else was secondary because if the teacher shares these values, their motivation and the centre’s principles would be enough for them to acquire the additionally-needed skills.” ~ Gergana Efremova
Szkoła Podstawowa nr 402
“[Parents] simply contribute positively to the community’s development—which involves bazaars, workshops, fundraisings, [volunteering]—but they place their trust, perhaps to a greater extent, in teachers; they trust the institution more.” ~ Tsvetan Metodiev
Specjalistyczna Poradnia OPTA
“We actually got to experience how the centre works with parents and students by being involved in an art-therapy session, during which we could ask staff questions, much like their regular visitors would.” ~ Vasiliya Svileva
It was time to wake it up. What better than some morning stretching and free walking about.
Okay, *slap on the cheeks to wake up*!
Ready for some awesome group work on school culture and personal leadership.
Markers up. Ready, steady, go!
Making a school leadership SWOT analysis: writing down what one's strengths and characteristics are helps figure what leadership techinques one's should practice to effectively address the risks and needs of their environment
Admiring everyone's work and getting the chance to learn from it.
Some lunch, a little reflection, and a few hugs after, we finally had to say goodbye to this first in-person collective. Although it ended, the impressions it made continue to charge our educators with positive force and show us that LEAD-IN not only teaches leadership, but also builds comradeship, which has the potential energy to revolutionise the way Europe handles its ever-changing educational landscape
“The strong sense of purpose among all participants [left a lasting impression on me]: their determination to take responsibility, to advance school development, and to create sustainable impact through concrete actions.”
~Rebecca Mair.
