Schools of the Polish teachers association in Vilnius (1896-1921)

The article presents the history of the Polish Teachers Association (Stowarzyszenie Nauczycielstwa Polskiego – SNP) in Vilnius which was established in 1896 as a secret society under the name of Schoolmistress Circle (Koło Nauczycielek). It presents the association’s evolution, basic objectives of operation and problems faced by the organizers and the teachers against a background of political and social events. The authors of the work present the schools of the Association, their origin, starting from organization of the so-called group lessons (junior high school courses) which laid foundation for the future junior high schools (for boys named after King Sigismund August and Joachim Lelewel and for girsl named after Eliza Orzeszkowa), the curricula, financial issues, problems with premises etc. Education in these schools was mostly provided to students who in the Russian Empire attended junior high, secondary and trade schools. The time frame of this work starts in 1896 (when the Association was established) and ends in 1921 when schools within the Association were partly taken over by the state. The above issues have been presented by the authors mostly on the basis of source materials stored in the National Historical Archive in Vilnius (Materials of the Scientific Society of the City of Vilnius)