The leaders among us

A Little Revolutionary

A New School in Warsaw

Andrew Mengel ’17 says his semester in the Czech Republic in the fall of his senior year at Moravian changed his life and set his postgraduate course. Eager to work abroad, Mengel accepted a teaching position at a trilingual school in Warsaw, Poland, but discovering a void in quality international education, Mengel and a fellow educator partnered in the development of the International School of Warsaw (ISW), which opened this fall.

How does ISW fill the void?

We believe in a holistic, individualized, liberal-arts-styled education. A lot of our philosophies and educational tropes are the same that transformed me at Moravian, so I believe they will work just as well in a primary and secondary school. We give our students a voice, allowing them to influence some of the curriculum, start community projects, and help plan school trips. We work in a triangle—student, parent, and teacher. With a strong commitment to internationalism, individualism, and communication, we give our students the wheel and let them drive toward their future.

ISW is a candidate for recognition as an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) school, the most renowned academic accreditation in the world. Our goal is to become a fully accredited IB School, adding the program’s middle years and diploma program (DP). With an IB DP diploma, our students would have their pick as to where to continue their education.

Additionally, I am developing a partnership with Moravian College whereby ISW students could take summer classes at Moravian, and Moravian College students could gain student-teaching experiences at ISW during a semester or our summer camp.

What is the enrollment?

We offer classes from nursery (3 years old) up through grade 10. Next year, we’ll add grade 11, and the following year, grade 12. We have 130 students; offer English, French, Polish, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Dutch; and are looking to offer Turkish and Arabic next year. Our school comprises 26 nationalities and has a staff of about 50, and we are planning to build an upper school on our current campus next summer.

We understand that Moravian classmate Angelo Fattore ’17 is working with you at ISW.

In May of this year, at ISW, we were a group of seven, working on construction, marketing, and solidifying curriculum and the programs; however, we didn’t have anyone to organize the behind-the-scenes operations, as well as begin to prepare a long-term strategic plan. Angelo, with his management and administrative expertise and unflinching work ethic, was a perfect fit for the school, so we offered him the position of operations officer.

Building an international school is quite an undertaking.

I give credit to Moravian College and the many opportunities it offers. I was able to explore a variety of interests on campus and abroad. Moravian allowed me to be: Be independent, be wrong, be curious, be attentive, be global, be revolutionary.

This piece was excerpted from a longer interview with Andrew Mengel. Read the full story here.