Who We Are

The mission of the Janusz Korczak Association of the USA, established in 2013, is to bring Dr. Korczak’s progressive pedagogical ideas, as well as his emphasis on civic education in the context of democratic citizenship, to as many young people, parents and educators as possible. Members of our Association carry out projects in schools, universities, Polish and Jewish institutions, and summer camps. We follow the wise teachings of Dr. Korczak that children deserve to be heard, that “children are not the people of tomorrow, but are people of today” and “that they teach and educate”.

Korczak Movement in the USA

In the USA, Dr. Korczak’s legacy was promoted by Professor Millicent Magaliff and Dr. Kurt Bomze, through their Janusz Korczak Society of America, founded in 1991. Professor Magaliff was instrumental in getting the Anti Defamation League to sponsor yearly Korczak Literary Awards in 1990s.

In April 2012, Mariola Strahlberg of Shining Mountain Center for Peaceful Childhood, Inc. (a not-for-profit organization for children), officially joined the International Korczak Association, and in April 2013, in New York City, the Janusz Korczak Association of the USA was officially formed. The following people were present at this special event: Joyce Reilly, Tomek Bogacki, Marcia Talmage Schneider, Rivka Halperin, and Mariola Strahlberg.

Our current board members are: Mariola Strahlberg, Joyce Reilly, Max Gilman, Brian Hull, Mary Tanner, Marcia Talmage Schneider, and Angela West.

Get to know us better by helping us to bring Kaytek the Wizard and King Matt the First puppet plays brianimationspuppetry.comas well as Janusz and Stefa musical drama facebook.com/januszandstefa to your area.

Korczak Movement around the World

After WWII, Korczak’s legacy as an educator and hero grew in Poland as well as abroad. It began in 1946, when the Committee to honor Korczak’s memory introduced pedagogical projects for young people, educators, and parents based on his methodology and life’s work. This organization was followed by Korczak Committee in 1957 and Polish Korczak Committee in 1972.

In 1963, Jerzy Zgodzinski and a group of people who studied Korczak’s pedagogy with him, started Korczakowo Camp near Osno Lubuskie, where every summer, young people from Poland, and sometimes abroad, spend unforgettable vacations in the spirit of Korczak. Click here to watch an inspiring movie about the Korczakowo Camp. You can read more about Jerzy Zgodzinski in one of our newsletters (click here), and learn more about the Korczakowo Camp on their website.

In 1997, Polish Korczak Committee became the Polish Association of Janusz Korczak, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote and publicize humanitarian ideas and a vast body of work of Janusz Korczak, educator, writer, journalist, pediatrician, social activist, and above all, defender of children’s rights. In 2003, the Polish Korczak Association became part of the International Korczak Association (IKA).