BxC Staff Is Hired and Ready to Begin

After a long and thorough process of outreach, interviewing, demonstration lessons, and reference checking, BxC has finished hiring a fantastic founding staff to launch the school in its first year. This group of intelligent, caring, experienced, and capable adults will work with children in many different capacities, as well as taking care of all of the administrative tasks that will keep the school running strong. The staff includes 8 classroom teachers (two for each class of children), a literacy specialist, a math specialist, a drama teacher, an art teacher, a social worker, a school aide, a director of finance, an operations manager, and two co-directors.

The staff of BxC gathered for the first time in June to begin to get to know each other and to talk about what we will be creating for the students and families of BxC. Over the summer, all staff members are reading Going Public by Shelley Harwayne, to think together about the priorities and practices that go into running a high-quality school, and Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, to engage with the idea of building a school in a community in which people are already living their lives, and what it means to be joining a community with respect and appreciation for what’s already growing there.

All BxC staff members will participate in an intensive two-week Summer Institute to prepare for the opening of the school.

We are thrilled that these exceptional educators and professionals will be working together to create a superb school for our students and families.

BxC Students and Families

BxC has enrolled all 100 of its founding students, 50 kindergartners and 50 first graders. Each family came to the school for an individual enrollment meeting and tour, and everyone left feeling impressed and excited. The school was abuzz with activity during enrollment evenings, as families toured classrooms while teachers measured their spaces and planned their classroom set-up. Future students gleefully explored the play yard, and also created artwork for staff members, as their parents and guardians spoke to the co-directors and learned more about the school's mission and educational program.

BxC students are a very diverse group, with eleven home languages and a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. They come from many different neighborhoods, including Fordham, Bedford Park, Norwood, Belmont, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights. and University Heights. 21 of the students also have a sibling attending BxC.

Over the summer, families will have a chance to meet each other and the BxC staff at a family picnic. And on September 2nd, BxC will open its doors and those 100 students will be a part of creating an educational environment filled with joyful learning, curiosity, and investigation.