In September, a project-based Waldorf-inspired private school called TAWCS – The Art of Words Community School – will open in DUMBO. French bilingual program Smith Street Arts & Lettres is coming to Carroll Gardens and STEM school BASIS Independent Brooklyn is opening a campus in Downtown Brooklyn.
TAWCS (The Art of Words Community School) located at 52 Bridge Street in DUMBO will service up to 140 students from grades K to 12 and have after-school programs as well. They plan to offer small class sizes with a 12:1–student: teacher ratio and their tuition is on a sliding scale based on income, with the top tuition peaking at $37,500 per year. This new program is based on a progressive education model that believes children learn by doing, so intellectual and personal discovery, as well as the development of critical thinking skills, are vital parts of the school curriculum. “CLAP stands for Community, Literacy, Art, and Project-based. Combining the best of Waldorf-inspired curricula to STEM, at TAWCS, we are innovating during unprecedented times and innovating the future with the best educators in the nation.” They have just moved into their new home with approximately 4,000 square feet for grades K-5 at 52 Bridge Street and will expand with approximately 4,000 square feet at 215 Water Street for grades 6-12. Find out more here.
Smith Street Arts et Lettres, the expansion of Smith Street Maternelle in Carroll Gardens is an independent, arts-based French-American school in Brooklyn, opening in September 2021. The French/English bilingual curriculum emphasizes a Reggio-Emilia inspired, holistic approach to education with artistic expression as the foundation of a child’s social emotional development. They will begin with two classes—a Kindergarten and a 1st/2nd grade mixed age group. By September 2022, they plan to welcome K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes as well as 6th grade for the first year of their middle school program. Next school year, they will be in temporary locations until the larger school building in the Carroll Gardens/Gowanus area is ready to open. The Kindergarten location will be at 607 Henry Street while 1st/2nd grade will be at 104 First Place in Carroll Gardens. The school admits both Francophone and Anglophone students through 1st grade. In Kindergarten through 2nd grade, 75% of instruction will be in French, with 25% in English. They will follow a simultaneous biliteracy model, with children formally learning to read in both French and English in Kindergarten. From 3rd to 5th grade, they will follow a 60:40 model, and by 6th–8th grade, it will increase to a 50:50 model with equal instructional time given to both languages. Tuition will be $24,000 for full day (9 am–2:30 pm). Find out more here.
BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK–12 private school featuring a liberal arts curriculum with advanced STEM offerings. The school with a main campus in Red Hook is expanding to City Point in Downtown Brooklyn where they will serve students in PreK (3 and 4 year olds) to Grade 2, beginning this fall. Students will have courses in literacy, Mandarin, STEM, visual arts, and more. The new 62,000-square-foot lower school campus will feature an indoor playspace. School hours will 9 am to 3 pm with after school programs available, students 4 years and up can use school buses. Tuition starts at $32,500. Find out more here.
Rendering: BASIS Independent Brooklyn
