 The school was supported by generous donations granted by wealthy Greek families, including the Velissarides and Kallivazis families, members of which controlled trade in most of the Black Sea Ports.In 1817, Savvas Triantafyllidis became director of the Phrontisterion and the institution reached a higher level of educational standards as a result of the modern Greek Enlightenment.After 1839, and especially 1856, the Ottoman authorities allowed teachers that were trained in Athens, Greece to teach at the Phronstisterion.