474 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.

My son is currently in 6th grade at BCS and we could not be happier. I never thought my kid would look forward to school after many years struggling in elementary school to complete assignments and participate in class (we finally got him diagnosed with ADHD during the remote learning phase of covid), but it's a different world now. The teachers at BCS seem happy and really engaged with their students, and Scill (the principal), Imani (AP), and the administrative staff are communicative, caring, and available to both students and parents. The 6th grade teacher team sends out a detailed email to parents each week with a rundown of what the kids are studying, when they have quizzes and assignments due, and what the homework expectations are (homework is very light so far, which I love--most of the BCS work gets done in class). Each child is assigned to a "crew" at the beginning of 6th grade that they stay with the whole way through BCS, and they have a crew period every day where they can touch base with their crew leaders and friends and have some downtime (sometimes they play games in crew, sometimes they use the period to do homework, but either way it's a nice break in the academic day). My biggest worry with middle school was whether my child would have social-emotional support and feel good at/about school, and BCS has exceeded my expectations on that front. If you are looking for a diverse, inclusive, supportive community where kids' well-being is nurtured and the academics are strong but not rigorous or stressful, BCS is a fantastic choice.