Founded By Parents and Teachers
The Brooklyn New School (BNS) is a PreK - 5 school founded in 1987 by a committee of parents and teachers who wanted to create a school with a racial, ethnic, and economic balance, where children of different skill levels work together and engage in active learning, and where parents are involved in their child’s education. BNS is committed to academic and personal success for all students. We believe that children are creators of meaning in their own lives. They are naturally thoughtful and curious, and they work to gain understanding of the world they inhabit. When the adults who care for children foster this effort, children become life-long learners.
Curriculum
Classroom life at BNS centers on exploration and challenge. Science, social studies and the arts are integrated in our rooms, and academic skills are developed in the context of thematic curriculum. These themes reflect state and city curriculum guidelines for the teaching of social studies and science. Over the years teachers have worked together to create a list of topics that create a sequence. They also give children exposure to many disciplines and methods of inquiry.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We believe in creating a school culture of belonging.
We believe in building collaboration skills that build emotional intelligence.
We believe in creating lifelong learners.
We believe in cultivating curious minds.
We believe in freedom of expression.
We believe in healing and bringing cultures closer together. We believe in listening with pure intent.
We believe in equity and equality for all.
We believe that diversity is how we heal the world.
“As a member of the Brooklyn New School community since its inception in 1987, I take great delight in returning to its busy, colorful, loud and inviting hallways. Full of the voices of children, BNS expresses the power of love. If the pandemic taught us anything, it reinforced what schools must be about: relationships, relationships, relationships. At Brooklyn New School, kids learn how to be with others, how to care with others and how to effect change, always with others.”
— Anna Allanbrook | BNS Former Principal
