Brooklyn Prospect Charter School Adds K-5 Program

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — As the innovative Brooklyn Prospect Charter School continues to grow, new facilities have been developed to keep pace with expansion and demand. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme school, along with designer Loci Architecture, recently celebrated the opening of several new learning spaces in both BPCS locations.

The respected Brooklyn Prospect Charter School first opened to middle and high school-level students in 2009. Three years later, the school’s original 57,000-square-foot facility on Fort Hamilton Parkway received a $6 million upgrade, adding four science labs, hundreds of lockers, improved restroom facilities and a bright, uplifting paint job. The building was also outfitted with wireless Internet, furthering the school’s mission to prepare students for future technology-based learning.

Faced with an increase in admission requests, the school announced the expansion of the original Hamilton Parkway location in 2013. Loci Associates was tapped to help redesign the existing structure, adding new chemistry and biology laboratories, as well as a dance studio. As the school also shares space with a working convent, the addition injected new life and vitality into the converted Catholic school building.

At the same time, Loci also designed several classrooms and administrative offices for BPCS’s newest venture, an elementary school occupying the top three floors of nearby 80 Willoughby St. The addition of an elementary facility will allow the charter school to add one new grade each year, eventually becoming a K-5. This will also allow students to enjoy International Baccalaureate Programme education from kindergarten through high school. The 18,000-square-foot elementary, which also shares spaces with St. Joseph High School, opened in early September 2013 and will eventually serve approximately 300 K-5 students.

Daniel Rubenstein, executive director and co-founder of the Brooklyn school, which has gained both local and national attention for its commitment to racial and socioeconomic diversity, is very pleased with its progress. “Six years ago we set out to open a diverse, high-performing public school that would prepare students for a global world,” said Rubenstein. “We are proud of how far we’ve come.” Rubenstein added that the school’s new K-5 addition allows the existing 6-12 program to have an even greater impact.

The school, which holds an annual lottery for admission, was chartered by the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute and is one of only several non-selective public schools currently offering the International Baccalaureate Programme. As evidenced by the progressive and challenge curriculum, the school is committed to providing a global education. This goal is reflected throughout its IBP curriculum, which is applauded by many top universities and colleges. This unique approach to education is similar to that of a college preparatory, and fosters peer collaboration, encourages personal reflection, promotes community service and prepares students for a global workforce by developing second language fluency. “Our goal is to prepare students for success in a rigorous high school diploma program,” said the school’s co-founder and current middle school principal, LaNolia Omowanile. “It’s not about passing Regents, it’s about going in-depth in the subjects.”