Bold Charter School

Bold Charter School offers daily science lessons and a longer school day. It features two teachers in every classroom, visual and performing arts lessons, and chess, in addition to sports such as soccer, basketball and track. All students receive a Chromebook, according to the school website. 

Founded in 2019 with kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms, the school will add one grade per year until it is a full K-5 school with 480 students. The school days lasts from about 7:55 am to 3:45 pm, except for Wednesdays, when dismissal is at 1 pm so teachers can plan. 

Lead founder Andrew Foglia has a Masters in Education from Harvard University, and worked as a teacher and school leader in the Success Academy network. Most of the staff at Bold Charter has experience at Success Academy schools, staff bios show. 

Like Success Academy schools, the rules for students and for parents are strict; children wear uniforms and are expected to “track” teachers and peers with their eyes when they are speaking. Students must score at least a Level 3 in all core subject areas (math, reading, social studies) to move to the next grade. They can also be held back if they are absent for more than 10 days. Attendance for parents/caregivers is mandatory at all family conferences, the school handbook shows. 

The school is housed in a pleasant five-story brick complex in a semi-industrial area along the Bronx River that, in addition to the school, contains low-income studios and one-bedroom apartments, according to City-Data. On nice weather days children play in nearby Colgate Park.

ADMISSIONS:  Lottery with preference to District 12. The school accepts students in all grades as spots become available through January 1 of that school year, according to the charter’s original plan. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, June 2020)