The liberal arts and sciences BASIS Curriculum provides students many opportunities to demonstrate excellence in and out of the classroom. We are proud of the accomplishments of our students and teachers at BASIS Independent Brooklyn. Below is a selection of media recognition of school achievements and noteworthy happenings around campus and across our network:
BASIS: Inside the Acclaimed School Network That’s Blended Together the World’s Best Education Practices
-The 74 Million
“…Tara attends BASIS Independent Brooklyn, part of a chain of 27 public charter, private, and international schools in five states, Washington, D.C., and China that recently captured four of the top five spots on U.S. News and World Report‘s annual ranking of America’s best high schools. BASIS makes advanced, immersive coursework a requirement for all students, from pre-K through high school—an approach that some dub ‘deep content.’ But for co-founder Olga Block, there’s nothing extraordinary about such comprehensive study; it’s simply the way she was taught as a child growing up in Czechoslovakia.”
A revolutionary school ‘turns back the clock’ in Brooklyn
-New York Post
“…As headmaster Hadley Ruggles tells me, ‘Brooklyn is a progressive place, and it looks like we have rolled back the clock.’ The students are taught grammar. Math in the early grades involves drilling. Students are required to take three years of Latin. Writing is focused on analytical work, not ‘journaling.’ The school does offer some trendy classes: Elementary school requires several years of engineering and Mandarin. But they’ve also stuck with Advanced Placement classes, even as many schools have dropped them out of fear that kids will burn out from all the tests. Students as young as eighth grade are taking APs and scoring well.”
Best of Brooklyn: BASIS Independent Brooklyn
-News 12 Brooklyn
Sixth- and seventh-grade students from BASIS Independent Brooklyn fell just short of moving on in this year’s Department of Energy National Science Bowl.
‘Initially, I was nervous, because there were so many other teams,’ says Kesar S., one of five students from the school who had hoped to make it to the next round in Washington, D.C. ‘Everyone was much older than us—and taller.’
For the first time, the students competed at the regional competition in January, squaring off with 10 other New York City teams of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. The BASIS team finished second.
Brooklyn kids compete to be 'Master Chef Junior' on FOX
-Metro USA
“Donovan, a student at BASIS Independent Brooklyn has been cooking since he was three-years-old, his father told the school’s blog. ‘I’ve always been really interested in cooking Asian food, exploring unique flavor profiles and experimenting with exotic ingredients,’ the science and Mandarin-loving student said. ‘I love the feeling of discovering something really new and unique, like a rare spice or difficult to find seasonal fruit or vegetable. Since the show ended, I’ve been really focused on developing my pastry and cake decorating skills.'”
Barneys Lookbook Shot By Brooklyn Teen Photographer
– Patch.com, Gowanus-Red Hook
“The lookbook for Barneys New York’s latest women’s collection was shot by a photographer right here in Brooklyn — a 16-year-old photographer, that is. Red Hook high-schooler Denise Hewitt recently was awarded the honor of shooting new label FiveSeventyFive, which came out earlier this year.”
5 Questions About... STEM Education
– Alina Adams, NYC School Secrets
Everyone is talking about STEM education and how important it is, but what exactly is it? How can it benefit your child? How should you evaluate an outstanding program? How does STEM fit in with all of the other subjects? Watch now to get your most important questions answered by BASIS Independent Brooklyn Head of School, Ms. Hadley Ruggles.
Coming of Age During Lockdown Through the Eyes of One Young New Yorker
– Vogue
“Denise Stephanie is an 18-year-old photographer from Brooklyn. This spring, she celebrated her graduation from BASIS Independent Brooklyn, a school in Red Hook…. Ahead of graduation, we banded together and asked our high school to push the ceremony to August, so now we’re doing a very small, in-person one in the next few weeks, but I’ve still paraded in my mom’s car with graduation balloons and a sign for my bestie. In June, we surprised another friend with a birthday picnic in Fort Greene Park, and we’ve watched movies online together, talking and jesting all the way through to the end.”
Red Hook schools mark Black History month
– Nathan Weiser, The Red Hook Star Revue
“Both the private BASIS [Independent] school, and the public PS 676 are Red Hook schools that helped celebrate Black History Month this past February.
The 5th grade read “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson, an excerpt from Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid and poems like “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes and “At the Cemetery, Walnut Grove Plantation, South Carolina, 1989” by Lucillie Clifton.
BASIS’s 7th grade read poetry from notable black authors like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou.”