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Our Insights

What’s Special

International Baccalaureate program

The Downside

Tiny school with limited courses and activities

Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA), a tiny all-girls charter high school opened in 2017, aims to provide a strong education in science and technology to young women in and around Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Students take International Baccalaureate courses and receive a laptop computer in their first year which they may keep after graduation.

Academics and Instruction: All students are required to take a minimum of 3 to 4 classes from the challenging International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum with the option of receiving an IB diploma by taking and passing the full sequence of courses.

Classes are driven by discussion, and students are encouraged to ask questions of their teachers. Chairs and desks have wheels, so they can be easily reconfigured from a lecture-style into a circle. Classes run for 75 minutes, which is meant to prepare students for college classes. There are on average 20 students per classroom.

Students study either Arabic and Spanish and all take SAT prep classes.

All 9th-graders take visual art, dance and theater and in upper grades choose which electives they want to take.

Culture and Environment: Students meet with a teacher mentor for a weekly “leadership academy,” which is similar to advisory in other schools. Each grade is assigned its own clinical social worker who stays with them throughout their four years at the school.

The school uses a “restorative justice” approach to discipline that minimizes suspensions and promotes positive behavior through conversation, reflection, and corrective action.

Clubs and extracurricular activities include student government, art, a financial literacy group, and theater. Clubs often change from year to year. 

Policies regarding academics and student life are outlined in a 57-page handbook

Special Education and English as a New Language (ENL): BELA offers ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes, which are taught by two teachers, one trained in special education. There are no dedicated ENL classes. Students learning English get extra support from the world language faculty.

Building and Facilities: BELA is on the second floor and half of the third floor of a building it shares with two other schools: Whitelaw Reid Academy of Arts and Business and The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

The shared campus has a gym, auditorium and cafeteria. BELA’s floor includes a library and science lab. Students from the three schools share some sports teams, such as basketball. 

College and Career: Students take “post-secondary” classes starting in 9th grade designed to prepare them for the world beyond BELA. All students are required to participate in a “beyond BELA experience” each summer, which could be anything from a pre-college program, an internship, studying abroad, athletics camp, or the Summer Youth Employment Program. Students take “exposure trips” to colleges and universities. (Dashiell Allen, interview, July 2024) 

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
95%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
87%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
51%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
100%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
100%
From the 2022-23 School Quality Guide and 2022-23 NYC School Survey

Students

219
Number of students
Citywide Average is 615

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
81%
Students with disabilities
 
16%
Multilingual learners
 
3%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

Not offered in 2021-21

Computer Science

Not offered in 2021-21

Physics

 
7%

Advanced Foreign Language

 
13%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
100%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
45%

Music

Not offered in 2021-21
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
67%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
65%
From the 2020-21 and 2022-23 School Quality Guide
Visit Understanding FAFSA for help with the FAFSA and financial aid.
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

125 Stuyvesant Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11221

Trains: J Line to Kosciuszko St; M Line, Z Line to Myrtle Ave

Buses: B15, B47, B54, B38, B46, B46 SBS, Q24


Contact

Principal: Nicia Fullwood

Phone: 347-473-8830

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares a building with The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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