BROOKLYN FRIENDS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
VOL. 10, NO. 1 WINTER 2014
The Next Chapter in BFS History
New Upper School Facility To Open in MetroTech, September 2015
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rooklyn Friends School has signed a long-term lease to move the Upper School to One MetroTech Center, more than doubling the size of the current facility and adding to MetroTech’s vibrant academic campus. “The new Upper School building, a complete, buildingwithin-a-building that is a three minute walk from our Pearl Street school, represents a dramatic step forward for our Upper School that has been many years in the making,” said Head of School, Larry Weiss. Proximity to our Pearl Street building and having the requisite square footage for our program were key factors in choosing the MetroTech location, Dr. Weiss explained. “The bonus comes with being an integral part of a thriving academic campus represented in MetroTech, the benefits that will accrue to our students and faculty as a result of this proximity,” he said, “and likewise the significant contributions Brooklyn Friends School will continue to make in strengthening the downtown Brooklyn community.” For the last nine years, Upper
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School students have been taking classes at 55 Willoughby Street – 17,000 square feet – and using Pearl Street facilities, such as science labs, visual and performing arts studios, and the cafeteria. Moving to the new space at 116 Lawrence Street at MetroTech Center allows all of the facilities to be housed in one building. Designed by FXFOWLE
architects – industry leaders in school design – the three-story, 40,000 square foot facility will have approximately 15 classrooms and seminar rooms and include four science labs, three art studios, a black box theater, dance and music studios, and physical fitness space. It will open to students in September 2015 and will accommodate
Head of School Larry Weiss (sitting center) signing the lease for the new Upper School facility, with (clockwise from left of Larry) BFS CFO David Kleiser, BFS Upper School Head Bob Bowman, and the new facility architects, Tim Macy and Sylvia Smith of FXFOWLE.
approximately 240 students in grades 9-12. Brooklyn Friends School has strategically planned to increase its enrollment, adding one new class starting in preschool every year since 2008. The school is now in Year 6 of this plan. As the earlier grades expand to three sections per grade, it has become imperative to utilize every available space in the 77,000 square foot Pearl Street building for Preschool, Lower School, and Middle School programs. Occupied by BFS since 1972, the Pearl Street building has undergone extensive renovations over the past seven summers, with considerable improvements made on each of the building’s seven floors and the open-air rooftop playground. There are now 775 students from preschool through high school at BFS, and another 90 students are part of our program through Horizons at Brooklyn Friends School, a summer and afterschool enrichment program for area public school children. In addition, the school leased and built out 6,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of a residential condominium at 189 Schermerhorn Street in the summer of 2011 for a standalone Family Center at Brooklyn Friends for two year-olds. More than 50 children are enrolled in the center every year, far exceeding expectations for the program. – Joan Martin
LEARN MORE ABOUT Brooklyn Friends School’s strategic expansion over the past eight years and view photos of the new and renovated facilities at brooklynfriends.org/facilities