409 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11231

My son has attended this school since pre-K. As a family that is neither white, wealthy, nor French, he has often felt like an outsider. Unfortunately, he's been subjected to frequent bullying, and the social environment has been deeply unwelcoming.While many of the teachers have shown kindness and have genuinely supported his academic growth, the overall culture among students is troubling. The atmosphere is dominated by privilege, and we’ve found that the most difficult dynamics often come from children of extremely wealthy or insular families.Parent culture here is cliquish and performative, often projecting unresolved personal issues onto their children’s school experiences. The administration, including the principal, has been largely ineffective at addressing bullying or creating meaningful change — and at times seems unwilling to engage with conflict directly.This school feels designed for a narrow, elite demographic, and many aspects — from the school "merch" in French to the unspoken social codes — reflect that exclusivity.We’ve made the difficult decision not to return next year. No family should feel invisible or unsafe in a place meant for learning and growth.

With providing, true, qualitative data: A true community of deep learning. If you looking for a school where you are expected to "fit the mold", look elsewhere. If you are looking for a school where you expanding the mold, look no further. BCS is part of a consortium schools with a longstanding, transformative educational framework, expanding on its already robust arts, science, ELA and Math programs. Also incorporated are innovative extracurricular enrichment programs for students to figure out how they contribute their time, talents and gifts to. Many students are able to find their place in the school from the very first day ( at student/family orientation, during school tours, first day of school) while some eventually find their path with the true guidance, support and encouragement that BCS' teachers, school admin leaders, staff and overall community provides. As a parent, it is a true honor and wonderful experience to behold when seeing the students in their element of overall professional presentation with PBATs. What they have been learning throughout the year/semester is dynamically put into their words, while simultaneously watching their analytical, critical-thinking, interpersonal, public speaking, effective communication and engagement skills in action. Every chance I get to walk through their halls, sit in their classrooms, and I walk many kinds of school halls and sat in many classrooms in NYC alone- its never a perspective of just another school, but actually preparedness for their future levels of life, whether its college or any structured paths that lead to their overall success. I highly recommend this learning environment to any student whose aims are to always level up.