Hello! You recently received notification that you have been offered a seat at our school, and we are very excited to welcome you to Brooklyn Collaborative Studies (15K448)!
The next few years will be a wonderful time of growth for you, leading you on a successful path to college and career. You will be joining a community of learners with many documented achievements, welcome! We will offer a New Student Orientation on Wed, June 4 and we hope to see you then – more information to follow! Have a wonderful weekend!
Did you know:
- Brooklyn Collaborative is a college-preparatory secondary school. Our annual College March celebrates that 100% of our high school seniors are accepted to college every year, and our graduation rate is 95%. Of the Class of 2024, 90% of graduates were admitted to multiple colleges with 54% matriculating to 4-year institutions. Our work supporting college access and success for all students is recognized by the DOE Office of Postsecondary Readiness, including highlighting our outstanding college persistence rate with students continuously enrolled in college for 3+ semesters. Students who have graduated from Brooklyn Collaborative are attending: Bard College, Barnard College, Brandeis University, Cornell University, New York University, Skidmore College, and nearly every SUNY and CUNY school, including CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College.
- Brooklyn Collaborative has a New York State-approved Regents waiver. Students at BCS take only the ELA Regents in Grade 10 as a graduation requirement. (In middle school, BCS students take the Algebra and Biology Regents in Grade 8.) In all other subjects, in lieu of the Regents, BCS students complete Mastery Passage PBATs, or Performance-Based Assessment Tasks, which are seven- to ten-page analytical papers researched, developed and revised under the supervision of a faculty mentor and publicly defended before a panel of faculty, peers, and visiting experts. PBATs offer students the opportunity to produce sophisticated, high-level work typically expected in a college course. Students work on this type of writing in Grade 9 and slowly build each year towards their Graduation-level Passages in Grades 11 and 12. PBATs are one of many forms of authentic assessment we use to assess student learning. Read more about the schools with Regents waivers at www.performanceassessment.org (Students in our middle school also complete PBATs in all their core classes every year in Grades 6-8.)
- Brooklyn Collaborative offers college-level honors curriculum. At BCS, teachers design our own classes, drawing from diverse standards-aligned college-preparatory anti-racist resources. In all our high school core classes, students are offered an HONORS extension. When completed successfully, at the end of the semester, students earn their regular class grade AND on their transcript, there is a designation of HONORS. For advanced courses, we offer AP Art 2D and 3D, multiple classes that have been certified as “College Preparatory Classes” by the NYC Department of Education (which NYC considers the equivalent of AP classes), and multiple classes dual credited with SUNY Old Westbury so students earn college credit during high school. Moreover, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students are eligible to take College Now classes at CUNY City-Tech and earn free college credits.
- Brooklyn Collaborative prioritizes academics and character development – all students earn at least 11 credits each year in rigorous, interesting, and collaborative courses. All 9th grade students have a full schedule including ELA, Social Studies, Math, Science, PE, and Crew. Each semester you also have a selective class like World Arts, etc. Our second language is American Sign Language which you take in 10th grade. We use a competency-based grading system and you will be graded on your academic work and your Habits of a Graduate. All students and parents have access to Jumprope, an online attendance and grading system.
- Brooklyn Collaborative is a diverse community where we celebrate our differences and similarities. Our current demographics are 37% Hispanic, 29% Black, 26% White, 3% Asian, 5% Other. We welcome you into our community to learn in a school with many students from all backgrounds from all over Brooklyn.
- Brooklyn Collaborative offers extracurricular opportunities. In high school, we partner with Inspiring Minds to offer a variety of clubs like Gaming, Crochet, Robotics, Music, Art, Cheerleading, Cooking, and much more. We also have six PSAL sports teams (Girls/Boys Basketball, Girls Volleyball, Soccer, Girls Softball, Boys Baseball). In middle school, we partner with YWCA of NYC to offer homework help, leadership development and other clubs afterschool. We also have Student Council and newspaper.
- Brooklyn Collaborative engages in regular fieldwork outside the building. Eight times a year, our students participate in Expeditionary Thursdays (ETs). ETs are day-long fieldwork sessions where the regular schedule is suspended and you go outside the school building to pair experiences in the city with classroom learning.
- Brooklyn Collaborative prioritizes academics and character development. We believe that social-emotional learning is an important part of academic achievement. At BCS, we support students in achieving our six core values: kindness, open mindedness, responsibility, persistence, courage and collaboration.
- Brooklyn Collaborative is active on our website and our Instagram. We encourage students, families, and community members to regularly check our site at www.bcs448.org and to follow us on Instagram (TheCollaborativeChronicle) to learn about what’s going on in our school. You’re part of our crew now!
- Brooklyn Collaborative students complete a mandatory internship as a graduation requirement. In 11th grade, you will be assigned to a one-semester internship. Since the start of our internship program in 2009, more than 1000+ BCS juniors have worked in over 100 businesses, non-profits and government agencies around the city.
- Brooklyn Collaborative is a Future Ready Education Pathway School (partnered with SUNY Old Westbury) – our students take coursework in high school that builds towards an education credential upon graduation. Students at BCS take electives and take high school / college coursework that prepares them for a possible pathway in education careers, thereby expanding career options in high demand fields. Did you know that the median salary of an education professional can be $90K+?
- Brooklyn Collaborative is an NYC Outward Bound school – our students participate positively in our Crew advisory structure and in our Outward Bound experiences. Every student at BCS is placed in a Crew which you stay with from Grade 9-12. Each semester starts with Crew days to help you orient to the year and meet new friends. Students in Crew learn to be agents of self-change, to take responsibility for their learning, and to develop supportive relationships with adults and peers. Crew includes circles, field work, service, academic advising, and team building activities. In Grade 10, our crews go on Crew Expedition Camping which is a fantastic overnight bonding experience with your Crew.
If you have any questions, please contact:
- Principal Scill Chan (scill@bcs448.org)
- Assistant Principal Imani Matthews (imani@bcs448.org)
- Parent Coordinator Tracey Pinkard (tracey@bcs448.org)
**If you are declining your offer (moving, attending a private/charter/specialized school, etc.), please decline officially in MySchools as soon as possible so that we can offer your seat to another child on our waitlist. Also, please email Scill@bcs448.org to let us know since MySchools may have a time delay in updating. Best wishes to you!
^^Are your classmates interested in joining you at Brooklyn Collaborative? Please ask them to discuss with their family and add their names to our waitlist in MySchools!