MORE THAN 300 YEARS EDUCATING. PIOUS SCHOOLS OF KECSKEMÉT (HUNGARY)
Domonkos Mikulás, Principal
I started teaching at our high school in 1996 as a mathematics and German teacher, having previously graduated from high school here. During my career, I have been involved in the critical transformation of the school, often in an active way. Since 2007, I have been deputy headmaster, primarily responsible for the development of the school, and since 2017, I have been headmaster of the institution. I am a member of the Piarist Fraternity. My wife is also a teacher in our high school; we have four daughters, and the youngest is still in high school.
The Piarist vocation is broad, and we can bring something not only to the students of our school but also to those of the city and the region, and even on a much broader and international level. Over the years, I have also started to work on international networking of Piarist schools, and, in addition, I lead the Association of Hungarian Student Laboratories.
The school
The school was founded more than 300 years ago, in 1714, by the landowner of the town and has been in operation with a brief interruption (1948-1949). Since 1950, it has had a boarding school, currently with 80-90 pupils. It was one of the 8 Catholic high schools that could function under communism. During this period, the teachers were, almost without exception, Piarist religious. After 1989, there were continuous changes because the Piarist Order opened and started to run new institutes in addition to the two existing ones. In Kecskemét, an elementary school was also opened next to the high school, which until 2010 was only for boys. In 2012, the school took over and integrated a girls’ high school in the city, and in 2014, a kindergarten was added. Since 2015, the school has had an “Öveges Student Laboratory,” named after a famous former Piarist physics teacher, which also welcomes students from the surrounding area for activities and science classes.
The students come mainly from the city, but one-fifth of the high school students (grades 9-12) come from further afield and stay at the boarding school during the week. A smaller number of students from other schools in the city also remain at the residence.
The school also has a scout troop and the communities of the Calasanz Movement, mainly of our students. The religious community has 11 Piarists, five of whom teach at the school. There is also a Piarist parish next to the house. The school has about 100 teachers and more than 900 students.
Challenges: successes and difficulties
Hungarian public education is highly segregated, and the various institutions cannot aspire to full inclusion without jeopardizing their existence. Therefore, other ways of taking responsibility for the poorest must be found. School partnerships, the Öveges Student Laboratory’s activities, and school community service can contribute to this.
Over the past two decades, the school has been affected by several development programs and external influences, such as digitization, inclusion of students with special educational needs, the COVID-19 pandemic, and pedagogical advances. They have often resulted in rapid but superficial improvements through grant programs. We want these processes to deepen.
In the field of pedagogy, digitalization and the resulting accelerated globalization and development of the knowledge structure are challenges in terms of organization, pedagogical content, and organization, which also affect the role of the teacher and bring about psychological and psychic changes. We must strengthen learning organization, help teachers, and work with parents and students to shape the school.
Pastoral
In the school’s pastoral life, both traditional and new forms are present. Classes begin and end with prayer, there are two weekly religion classes, and once a month, we attend Mass together on a weekday morning. Preparation for First Communion and Confirmation is done in collaboration with the parish. The school is religiously open, and we ask students and families to assume Christian values as the basis of our education, but the degree of personal identification depends on them. A spiritual day for teachers is held before the beginning of the school year, and a spiritual retreat for students with the active participation of the faculty during the school year. Our students can be involved in the life of the Scout Movement and the Calasanz Movement, as well as in national and international Piarist youth meetings. At the beginning of each school year, we participate in a school pilgrimage, a spiritual and community program.
My Passion
What motivates me most is when we create true collaborations, when we don’t just share what we have or what others share with us but work together towards common goals. Whether within a school or local, national, or international context. I see Calasanz as capable of making courageous decisions and recognizing the signs of the times. First, he looked for someone to whom he could entrust his work, then realized that he had to undertake it himself, and he created a religious order. We must have a responsibility beyond the functioning and development of the institution, and if possible, we should take responsibility for our wider environment.
Innovation
In the past, we have participated in several EU innovation projects, such as competency-based education, digitalization projects, integration of students with special educational needs, etc., and we have learned from all of them. Still, there have been too many at once.
One of the strengths of the school is internationalization and international relations. We have an Erasmus accreditation, and thanks to that and beyond, we are doing a lot to make the school an “international school.” For us, this means developing the “international competencies” of the students. Internationalization makes the learning processes more efficient and the institution’s development more effective through networking. Among other things, we involve every student in at least one international activity each year, sending our teachers to gain international training and experience and hosting others, building a solid international network, organizing individual and group student exchanges, developing colleagues’ language skills, involving students in planning and paying attention to the inclusiveness of international relations.
We have good experience with, among other things, two-month individual student exchanges, and we are working to integrate student exchanges and all international activities into the learning process, measuring learning outcomes and institutional impact. We have also learned a lot from international contacts in the field of pedagogical development, such as the SUMMEM program of the Province of Catalonia, which will help us to implement a school-wide “project week” this year, and that of the Province of Emmaus on the system of innovations.
Another important innovation is the operation of the Öveges Student Laboratory, which offers programs open to students from the region and helps the school’s students in STEM fields. It is also part of the Piarist social commitment, as our school is also the headquarters of the Hungarian Association of Student Laboratories. We are also running a significant student lab development project, which includes international student research groups, and we are launching a mobile lab with the association to reach out to schools that do not have adequate equipment. We are building collaborative relationships with industry, higher education, policymakers, local authorities, and vocational education and training to do this.
In addition to large-scale innovations, there are many smaller ones, such as the system for personal accompaniment of students in specific courses and parts of the institution or initiatives on digitization. Innovations are intertwined and mutually reinforcing at the school, and we strive to integrate them.
Technical Data
Name of school: Instituto, Internado, Escuela Primaria y Jardin de Infanancia Escolapios (School, Boarding School, Primary School and Kindergarten).
Address.
Contact: titkarsag@kecskeemet.piarista.hu or igazgato@kecskemet.piarista.hu
Web: www.kecskemet.piarista.hu
Date founded: 1714
Number of students: 943
Number of teachers: 100
Educational offerings: Kindergarten, elementary school (grades 1-8), high school (grades 9-12), boarding school (grades 9-12).
Other activities: Öveges Student Laboratory, Calasanz Movement, Calasanz Scout Troop (Kalazancius), cooperation with the parish and the Piarist House.
