10/22/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14vS2FtRAhc/?mibextid=wwXIfr
On Saturday mornings, while other American kids watched cartoons, thousands of Polish American children packed their bags and went back to school.
Polish Saturday schools have been part of Polish America for generations, and many began in Polish parishes. In Chicago, the modern ones grew out of the schools that Polish teachers had run for children in displaced persons camps in Germany after the war.
In 1951 Maria Zamora opened the Tadeusz Kościuszko Polish School in Chicago with six pupils. For years she was its only teacher.
The children learned to read and write in Polish, along with Polish history and geography. Many schools taught religion too, and prepared children for First Communion and Confirmation.
By 2002 there were 33 Saturday schools in Chicago and its suburbs, with more than 14,000 pupils. Today the Polish Teachers Association in America counts 46 schools and about 13,000 children.
Did you or your children go to Polish school on Saturdays?
