Even though the NYC Lab School (which favors students in District 2 in Manhattan) takes very few students from Brooklyn we decided to take a look just to torture ourselves. What torture.

Like Beacon, The Lab School is a solidly good academic institution with an excellent curriculum and engaged teachers. It is a small and selective school that, according to the principal, has a culture where learning and being smart is considered cool. They also have PSAL sports, clubs, AP classes and the opportunity to study at local colleges.

Even more, they offer excellent services for students with learning issues and the principal spoke openly about giving those students the skills and support they need through collaborative team teaching classes and special services.

In session the  school has a crowded energy and the students look happy and engaged in the classrooms. The school building is undergoing renovation so the place is a bit of a mess and seemingly too small for the number of kids (500 or so) that are there.

We visited a physics class (which looked scary hard), an English class where the teacher was teaching about the passive and active voice with great passion. We saw an earth sciences class and a music class, a new, required course, which includes music theory, music history and ethnomusicology. The kids seem focused in classrooms, where they were seated at tables and expected to do collaborative work. There was a very comfortable and friendly feeling between students and teachers.

At the top of the tour, we were seated in the auditorium where we heard the principal, Brooke Jackson, describe the school, in a hyper-articulate and dynamic lecture. She told us that Lab is a school with a mission and that they teach to the mission. Here is the mission, quoted from the school’s website:

Inspired by the power of collaboration, the Lab School challenges students to soar intellectually and to act bravely in our complex world community. In living our mission, we:
–Embrace students from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate a passion for learning
–Provide a full inclusion program that celebrates the gifts of all students
–Nourish each student socially, emotionally, physically, and academically
–Support students with a humanistic curriculum along a four-year arc of reflective inquiry
–Guide students to empathy through understanding

The walls of the school are covered with flyers about a diverse array of clubs including Asian studies, book clubs, chess, cereal (where the students compare various cereals). The school shares a building with the Museum School and is located on West 17th Street in Manhattan.

Illustration by Kevin Kocses: www.kevinkocses.carbonmade.com