First you give us a vacation from alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules. Now we get a new public charter middle school. What is going on? Park Slopers have really won the lottery this week.
Big news. Big news for parents in District 15: There’s a new public charter school called Brooklyn Prospect will open in September 2009. A Community School District 15 school, it will strive "to create
a school population that reflects the diversity of the community."
Brooklyn Prospect will be recruiting,
training and supporting educational professionals who model lifelong
learning and collaborative learning.
The website states that the school will "serve students with a
broad range of academic and social competencies. Classes will be taught
so that each student is challenged where appropriate, and supported as
necessary, with the goal to maximize the success of each learner."
Differentiation of instruction will be emphasized, as will an effort to
ensure that the students have experiences that are complementary and
inclusive.
Nice NOT to hear the words: only for gifted and talented students. Sounds like this school can accommodate a wide range of learners.
That’s a relief. No one can deny that we need more middle schools in District 15 so we parents are curious, curious, curious about this brand new effort in our midst.
Thankfully, the Brooklyn Prospect website is quite informative. Here’s an excerpt from the mission statement.
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School
students will achieve world class standards and participate, along with
their teachers and parents, as full members of a thriving model
learning community that prizes compassion, knowledge, and reflection.
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School seeks to prepare students in grades
6-12 from the diverse neighborhoods in Community District 15 with the
skills, knowledge, and habits of mind necessary for success in higher
education, the workplace, and life in the twenty-first century.
The school’s core values include:
Building foundational literacy and numeracy,
students will participate in collaborative curricular activities
designed to develop the skills and habits of mind necessary to
contribute to the global economy. Students will develop 21st
Century skills which include: innovation, inquiry, creativity,
expression, critical thinking, problem solving, reflection and
teamwork. In order to maintain world class standards, Brooklyn Prospect
Charter School will become an accredited International Baccalaureate
school, and every student will complete the International Baccalaureate
Middle Years Programme, preparing them for success in the International
Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
Interesting that the school will be an accredited International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. They’re going for world standards not just NYC ones.
I’m wondering what that means specifically in terms of curriculum. Language requirements, higher level of math and science training? World history?
The planning team’s bios are on the website. The names include James Bernard, who was on the Park Slope 100 and is the founder of the Source Magazine and a member of Community Board 6. Here are the names of the Board of Trustees:
Daniel Kikuji Rubenstein (ex-officio)
Executive Director, BPCS
Luyen Chou
Chief Product Officer, SchoolNet
James Bernard
Founder, The Source Magazine
Member, Community Board 6
Anne Burns
Executive Director, Harlem Day Charter School
Elizabeth Varley Camp
Managing Director, HealthpointCapital
Roger Fortune
Senior Vice President, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Pearl Rock Kane, Ed. D.
Director Klingenstein Institute
Teachers College, Columbia University
Candice Olson
Founder, iVillage
Eliza W. Swann, Esq
Partner, Shearman & Sterling