Primary School and Kindergarten of Psara - Historical Review of Education ta Psara

We begin the very short report to the history of the Elementary School Psaras with very useful as we believe information that concerns generally the education in Psara the previous years.

In the pre-evolutionary period the children were taught the first letters by the monks and through the hieratic books. The places where the young students were hosted were the monasteries of Zoodochos Pigi and Agia Triada. It is characteristic that all the men citizens of Psara had the elementary education, that is to say reading and writing, while this did not happen with the women who except a few  remained without the elementary knowledge. 

As the time passes the need for a more organized effort in the sector of education becomes more intense, so that all sorts of important documents, as charter parties etc. to be issued in a better way This effort is undertaken by  the priest monk Grigorios Moros on payment  and later by another priest monk Nikiforos, both men very proficient and beloved to the local society both. In 1806 Ioannis Varvakis finances the operation of school, which exists until the destruction of Psara (22 June 1824).

When after the year 1835 the citizens of Psara o come back to the destroyed island by the Turks, a rudimentary school immediately began to operate and in 1875 Andreas Basileioy undertakes  duties of schoolteacher, who in 1901 is replaced by the priest Ioannis Sakkas and Michalis Fokidis who came from Chios. The pre-revolutionary building located at the northeast of the historic church of Agios  Nicholaos  is being used as a school till then.

After the liberation  of Psara (21 October 1912), the students are transported in the building (konaki-old school) that was built with expense of the  admiral Nikolaos Apostolis and it were lodged  pre-evolutionary in the Naval Chamber of the  island.

In 1912 the education devolves in charge of the Greek state and the objective of constructing a modern school building is set. In 1926 therefore the works of construction began and with the subscription of the Greek state  (300.000 Drs), the community of Psara (70.000 Drs), the benefactor of community Nikolaos Filinis (5.000 Dr), the Metropolite of Kardamyla, Bolissos, Psara and Oinoysses Ioakeim Stroympis, but also a large number of residents who offered  voluntary work, is completed in 1928. From then until now the Elementary School of Psara  is lodged in the same building.

The school was built at the eastern side of the church of Agios Nikolaos and of the building where the  Eldership sat and later the Parliament of Psara and at the western side of the land where the house of Kanaris was (it was destroyed completely in 1824). It is stone-built and it is constituted by two rooms of teaching, an office for the teachers and a corridor, while it allocates also a spacious courtyard.

The building suffered  major damages during the German occupation where it became a provisional  residence of the German guard who reached the island in May 1941. Some of the more characteristic examples of depredation and vandalism were the destruction of the school’s material and part of the archive, the theft of the eminent and great value of collection of currencies of various states (1817 - 1940), as well as the burning of  all desks for the preparation of their meal!!

Around 1965 and with the offer  of the association “the friends of Psara” with chairman the admiral Mr. N. Pagkaras, room of events (the Kindergarten of Psara is lodged there today), toilets as well as a small residence for the accommodation of teachers who faced huge problem, due to lack of home for rental, were constructed in the yard  Today this house after an extensive repair  accommodates an additional room of teaching and the laboratory of information technology of the school. Because of the antiqueness of the  building  extensive repairs have been made, particularly in the past few year (1976,1982,1994,1998,2002,2004,2008,2011,2013) with the contribution of the Municipality of Psara and the School Committee and as a result the school is found in a decent situation.

All these years, that the school functioned in the beginning as a single-positioned and then  as a double-positioned, important teachers lightened the school with their presence and offered the maximum to youth and to the location in general. . Some of the more characteristic examples of multifaceted and long-lasting contribution are the  unforgettable Dimitrios Spanos (1936-1951), writer of three excellent  books with regard to the history, the folklore and the fighters of Psara, Ioannis Kaltsas (1951-1965) as well as Eleftheria Skarbeli-Konstantara (1938-1962).

The population bleeding that unfortunately struck the island in recent years has not been possible to not leave scars on the Elementary School of Psara. So we have a gradual decline in student population. Indicatively we mention the following school years with the number of students : In 1930 students 108, 85  students in 1950 , 1960 54 students, 40 students in 1990, 2005 30 students . This school year 2013-2014, 25 pupils are registered.

In the past few years we believe that much has been done in our school that contributed to its qualitative upgrading . Regular and absolutely necessary interventions to improve the image and functionality of the school building , its enrichment with rich teaching - visual material , its function as a full day school the year 2002-2003 , the parallel curriculum integration of English language , sports and information technology and the promotion of our school from double-positioned to triple-positioned with the  64797/D4/29-6-2005 ministerial decision ( and the full aid of the Primary Education of Chios) are that data fully verify our claim.

It would be an omission on our part if in this very brief mention in the history of our school we would not specially mention the people who contributed greatly to the improvement of learning conditions and upgrading of education  that took place in our school.

We will refer primarily to all parents and other citizens of Psara , who offered occasionally selflessly their personal work and money , recognizing the importance and contribution of the school to the youth and the local community in general. To the unforgettable Nicholas G Filinis , a lawyer who lived in Ermoupoli in Syros island , who bequeathed shares of the Bank of Greece to our school from which an  annual dividend is collected . To  Mrs Dora Fragkomanolis , a civil engineer from Thessaloniki, to Mr. Prodromos Emfietzoglou, president of the construction company "ENGINEERING SA" and to Mr. Thanassis Martinos , ship-owner , who responded to our call for gradually upgrading the material and technical infrastructure of our school.

Obligation of all of us parents, teachers, responsible institutions is the permanent effort  with the objective to create a school-lighthouse of the  local society with open windows to the world and the future.

 

Vratsanos Konstantinos

Mayor of Psara

former head of Elementary School of Psara