Brooklyn School Of Inquiry

We've been here a long time and were smitten when our first child started. Speaking strictly for K-6, that feeling has gone downhill for us as the years have gone by. While the pandemic was hard on all schools, it felt particularly disruptive here. Many teachers left and others still seem significantly less engaged.Of particular note is the school's poor approach to special education services/IEPs. This is especially disappointing because, despite popular perception, gifted children frequently have special needs.The parents who remain tend to highly supplement their children's education (math tutoring, outside foreign language, etc.) and view the school more as a way to avoid their zoned school for various reasons. Personally, I no longer feel confident my children's needs are being served better than they could have been without a commute, but I do approach the low-worksheet style curriculum and involved parent community.The good:Approach to curriculaSmall communityPTOSocioemotional curriculaDiversity effortsArtsK-8 schoolThe bad:Teacher attritionStaffing and funding shortagesDiversity does not mirror NYC populationFew programs (afterschool, earlier foreign language, etc.)Poor special education supports

I would rate our experience at this school 9.5/10 because there has been a few times where I was quite unsatisfied, especially because of the new principal but, I love that children can express themselves through creativity and not numbers/letters.

Very disappointing. The schools strong reputation does not seem to reflect the reality.

It may be a result of heightened expectations or the fact that they still have to follow the core curriculum, but this school is a major disappointment. The children are not taught. The teachers seem lazy to me. Homework is a joke (1 or 2 math problems, and a reading passage), and my kid still has trouble with it because the teacher does not ensure that he fully understands the concepts taught in class. Parents are not kept appraised of what is going on in class, tests are not sent home for review. We are kept completely in the dark. Oh, and I feel like the frequent field trips (at least once a month, sometimes twice) are just an excuse for teachers not to teach - I would much rather them use this time to help struggling students - like my son. Overall, very likely we will be leaving this school if not next year, definitely for middle school. Waste of time.

I've been a parent since the school opened in 2009. My experience has been wonderful. I love that our students drive the education in class by discussing the themes among each other. Each student is encouraged to learn in the way they feel most comfortable with. Learning is not through text books but through research on current information.