Much of the background information available about the Tarbut High School is from JewishGen's Yizkor Book Translation Project of the Brisk Yizkor Book published in 1958, here.
A brief mention here, page 436, tells us that the Tarbut organization appeared in Brest and arranged evening classes in Hebrew in about 1920.
Another article, here, page 438, describes the Tarbut High School that followed:
...there was later founded the Tarbut Hebrew High School. It provided Hebrew and general education for those from Brest and district that had finished primary school. As with the Tarbut primary and middle schools, the standard was high. Children whose parents were Zionists attended these schools, and they had to give up the idea of attaining a Matriculation certificate because the Tarbut middle school was not entitled to grant its students diplomas.
The teachers of the Tarbut high school and its headmaster, Zev Lutwak, were concerned with a good education based on Jewishness and also general Polish studies. After a long battle with the Polish authorities the Tarbut Hebrew High School together with its sister school in Bialystok, obtained full official certification to grant matriculation diplomas....
The article continues, describing the social-religious context:
...This caused great celebration in Zionist circles. In Brest, even former opponents of Hebrew and Zionism joined in the celebrations. It was a resounding victory for the spirit of the Hebrew movement – previously the attitude towards the founders and supporters of the Hebrew schools had been one of apathy and indifference, and that the revival of Hebrew schools was only a dream.
The joy in Brest expressed itself in celebratory meetings and an open prayer Sabbath in the Great Synagogue with the participation of all the Hebrew schools' parents and students. Zev Dov Begin, the secretary of the kehilla council, welcomed them in the name of the kehilla. H.Tash spoke of the significance of a Hebrew education in the Diaspora – for such a Zionist celebration to be held in the Great Synagogue was unprecedented.
This article, page 441, gives us more details about the school:
In 1924, the Tarbut High School was established with 3 classes from the Techiya school and 2 other broader classes totaling 140 students. Amongst its founders were: Chaim Tennewitzki, Izbitzer, Neumark, Winnikoff, and the headmaster Z. Lutwak.
In the Tarbut High school, the spirit of Hebrew ruled, but the general studies were in Polish. ...There was much ideological debate – one side wanted to attain official accreditation at the expense of the Hebrew studies – the other side demanded that the school conduct all its teaching in Hebrew only, including general subjects.
...
Tarbut lasted until the outbreak of W.W.2.
Another article, page 443, gives details of the difficulty of establishing the school and the politics of Jewish education in the region.
Together with H. Lutwak who came to us from Galicia they would spend entire nights worrying about the finances, the teaching staff, and voluntarily conducting enrolment drives for students. In 1924 the school stood erected with 3 regular and 2 preparatory classes. The first teachers were Lutwak, Liberman, Rosenblum, Shklarski, and Lehrman. They had a few textbooks and some teaching material in Hebrew. From time to time there would be a delivery of teaching material from Warsaw. This was not as much a community activity but the fulfillment of a dream, the celebration of their achievement.
The headmaster and staff naively thought that the students should occupy themselves a great deal with Polish and Polish literature and history, just as in the Polish state schools. The ambition was to reach a standard to enable the school to obtain official Polish recognition –this placed the school administration in a dilemma.
As a result of this dilemma, the article goes on to say, the teaching and learning of Hebrew suffered.
The article concludes with a photo of some portion of the student body and teachers, one of the few such photos known.
Another book about Brisk confirms the date of founding and some details of the school:
In 1924 the Hebrew High School Tarbut was established in Brest...
...The Tarbut High School had a library with over 1000 books, almost all in Hebrew. In its reading room were Hebrew and Yiddish periodicals. Next to the library there were evening courses and lectures. The Tarbut High School had a student council that occasionally put out their own newspaper called Tzohar.
Yet another article, here, page 447, tells us that the Tarbut High School took over the site of the Hebrew primary school Techiya. [No explanation for the disappearance of the primary school is offered, however, and this historical point may be mistaken; facilities for a primary school might not be suitable for a high school.]
Further information can be gleaned from contemporary newspapers:
The May, 1925 Poleser Wochenblat (view issue masthead) includes on page 7, a note (view original text) about procedures for Tarbut entrance examinations:
We have been informed that the entrance exams to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades will take place between the 16th and 23rd of June of this year. Registration for these exams is possible every day except Saturday from the 1st to the 15th of June of this year between 9:00 to 14:00, in the administration office of the gymnaium (Uni-Lubelski 86) [ul. Unii Lubelskiej 86]
It is imporant to note that the students preparing for being accepted by the gymnasium must prepare these documents: 1. A birth certificate. 2. A confirmation of the small-pox vaccination 3. A photo. 4. School certificate. Because of the rush [or: pressure] of the students we warn to prepare all these documents before the dates above so as not to miss the deadline.
A second note (view original text) on the same page describes a children's evening event at the school:
The 30th of this month, on Saturday, 8 o’clock in the evening, a grand children’s evening will be presented in the theatre Sarver by the students of the Hebrew Gymnasium and the Tarbut public school of Brisk. The evening will present a rich program with Hebrew play, choir singing, recitations, gymnastics etc. It will be very interesting.
