In the history of the Russian intelligentsia there are still many controversial and poorly studied issues. One of the numerous groups of the intelligentsia in Russia has always been its pedagogical component. This independent social group, represented by teachers and teachers, began to form in the second half of the 18th century, which became possible thanks to the educational reform of Catherine II. Initially, the Empress attracted a wide range of interested persons to discuss the future of Russian education. As a result, she received various proposals and projects on the establishment of a comprehensive school in Russia. In this article, special attention of researchers is drawn to two projects, the authors of which were employees of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.