Are English only speaking students accepted into public Wroclaw school? Spanish ones too?

My family will be relocating to Wroclaw in mid March of the upcoming year. We do not speak any polish. We are from Massachusetts, USA. Here if a child comes from another country they are given extra help until they learn the language for free in public school . When we go to Wroclaw will they offer the same service. It was suggested that putting them in Private school would not enable them the opportunity to meet and play with local Polish children. Putting them right into the public school would be the way to go. Can any one offer an opinion and the facts about what programs if any the public school could help us with learning the language so that my children do not fall behind in their studies. I have a 6 year old in kindergarten, twin 9 in 4th grade and a 12 year in 7th grade. Thank you for any help :)

men.gov.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59& Itemid=127

If they can't help you directly, they might be able to point you in the right direction at least.

Good luck!

I am not an educator, although I am a parent of two bilingual children who have attended both Polish/International private schools in Poland I have also come into contact with many families who have lived in Poland for a period of 2-4 years. As a parent my concern would be the 12 year old it may be worthwhile paying for a private international school for him, or sending him to a state school/Gimnazjum which operates the IB program which is in Polish/English bilingual I am not familiar with Wroclaw in Warsaw this is a good school below contact them they may be able yo put you in with an equal in Wroclaw. Furthermore all state schools have catchment areas, so once you have established the best school you know the place you should be living. Good luck with it all.

This link may also help: ibo.org/school/000971/

Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego
Zespół Szkół Nr 66
ul. Myśliwiecka 6
00-459 Warszawa
tel: (+48 22) 628 21 01
fax: (+48 22) 621 98 37
e-mail: sekretariat(at)batory(dot)edu(dot)pl

We live in Wrocław and my kids' first language is English. They both attend Polish schools and are doing well in both languages but they have been in school here since preschool. It is a bit harder for my fourth-grade son. The public school where he goes has offered him one hour a week helping him with his Polish but in a group setting. Our daughter attends a small private, Polish Christian school. All her classmates are Polish and the classes are all in Polish. She doesn't receive any extra help with her Polish except that she is granted special conditions when she takes official exams (30 min. longer and grace for spelling and grammar mistakes.). My children are given this special help on the basis of an official document that they were given when we had them tested at a certified counseling center. They give bilingual kids the same treatment as children with dyslexia.

If you plan to stay in Poland long-term, then it is worth integrating at least the younger ones into the Polish system. The youngest would probably have no problem. Fourth grade is a critical year because that is when they start to receives grades and the program becomes more intense. I believe it would be much harder for a child in junior high or high school to keep up with their education without knowing the language. If you only plan to stay a couple years, then it may be better to continue their schooling in English and find other avenues of contact for them with Polish children, such as sports, church, etc. Hope this helps! Wishing you a good transition to life in Poland!

Did you find "English speaking children" friendly public school for your kids? I am moving from States to Wroclaw in May 2013. I am looking for school for my girls grade 0 and 2. I found two very expensive International Schools and one bilingual preschool which offers kindergarten. Are there any other schools which offer primary education in English? I would appreciate any information about schools in Wroclaw.

[Moved from]: Migrating to Wroclaw - public schools in English or Spanish for children?

I will migrate to Wroclaw with my family, I have two children (7 & 5), they only speak spanish, so I was looking for
a international school for them but they are very expensive.
I wonder if in Wroclaw there are public school in english or spanish?. or
may be a less expensive school.

Hi! Maybe some public secondary schools with bilingual sections in English like they do in Warsaw for English and for French but don't expect it in Spanish.

What country are you from?

Hi, did u manage to find a bilingual school in wroclaw?

I have to stay in Warsaw for a period of 2 years.
My son 8 years old need to be enrolled in a elementary schools.
But the problem is that he knows only Spanish, and a little English.
Is any elementary school for Spanish speaking children in Poland (especially in Warsaw)?

in my humble opinion your son is young and could use this time to learn polish or english or both. i think international schools would use english not spanish .

I concur. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to acquire more than one language! As someone who was raised nearly bilingual, I came to appreciate the benefits of target language instruction interspersed with source language conversation from the person who was taking care of me when I was still a child, not much past pre-K:-)