Upper School at a Glance Distinctive Features Academic Excellence Building on a century-old tradition of academic excellence, the Upper School has been galvanized by the implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which encourages students to think deeply, question critically, and engage with the world. Quaker Values Quaker Meeting for Worship is held weekly. Community members sit in silence, and if they feel moved to say something that will deepen the experience, they stand and speak. The practice of quieting the mind and opening the heart adds a spiritual dimension to the educational experience and encourages students to be thoughtful, active listeners. Commitment to Diversity Brooklyn Friends School cultivates an environment in which all people are respected and valued. The School strives to recognize, respect, and celebrate the differences and commonalities that shape the individual and collective identities of its members. Service Learning As a Quaker school, Brooklyn Friends has a focus on service learning that is practiced at every grade level. All 11th and 12th graders complete the IB Diploma Program’s CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) requirements . Afternoon Seminars Students may complement their regular coursework with challenging afternoon seminars in areas of special interest beyond the curriculum. The “Later at Lawrence” seminars meet once a week from 3:30 to 5:00 pm.
School and Student Body Brooklyn Friends School, founded in 1867, draws upon its Quaker heritage to educate students within the context of a challenging academic program and a caring, supportive community. An independent, coed day school, Brooklyn Friends enrolls more than 900 students from preschool through 12th grade, including 200 in the Upper School (grades 9-12). The student body reflects the racial, economic, ethnic, and religious diversity of New York City.
Upper School Courses & Requirements Our Mission
Guided by the Quaker belief that there is a Divine Light in everyone, Brooklyn Friends School cultivates an intellectually ambitious and diverse community that celebrates each individual’s gifts. We challenge our students to value and embrace difference as they develop critical thinking skills and apply their knowledge and intelligence both in and out of the classroom. In this rich learning environment, we inspire all members of our community to voice their convictions, to discover and pursue their passions, and to seek truth. Our graduates are compassionate, curious, and confident global citizens who let their lives speak in the spirit of leadership and service.
Faculty-Student Interaction
Students experience a new and deeper level of faculty-student interaction when they join the Upper School. As they become more independent and develop their own interests, BFS students form bonds with their teachers based on mutual respect. Such relationships are central to meaningful educational growth. Our graduates tell us that they actively seek to develop similar connections with their college professors.
International Baccalaureate (IB) courses are in bold English
4 years required
9: Youth and Society 10: US Literature 11-12: IB English Literature (SL/HL) World Languages 3 years required
9-10: Spanish 1/2/3 or French 1/2/3
Students may also study another language in addition to Spanish or French: Latin 1/2/3 or Mandarin 1/2
11-12: IB French Ab Initio / Spanish Ab Initio (SL) [for students who have completed French/Spanish 2]
or IB French B / Spanish B / Latin (SL/HL) [for students who have completed Fr/Sp/Lat 3]
or IB Mandarin Ab Initio (SL) [for students who have
completed Mandarin 1 & Mandarin 2] Students studying IB Spanish, French, or Mandarin may ALSO take IB Latin as an additional language.
Mathematics 4 years required
9: Geometry & Functions 10: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry (Standard/Honors) 11: Advanced Algebra
& Discrete Math or IB Mathematics (SL/HL) 12: IB Math Studies (SL) or IB Mathematics (SL/HL) Science 3 years required
9: Biology 10: Chemistry or Honors Chemistry 10: Computer Programming (elective) 11: General Biology 11-12: IB Biology (SL) or IB Biology (HL) or IB Environmental Systems & Societies (SL) IB Physics (SL) may be taken as a 2nd science course 12: Forensic Science History 4 years required
9: Western Civilization 10: Semester-long “Intensive Studies” - Art History 1 & 2, Latin America, Islamic History from Origins to the Modern Day, Genocide in the 20th Century, Modern African History, Modern India, International Relations 11-12: IB History (SL/HL) [11: History of the Americas; 12: 20th Century World History]
Visual and Performing Arts 3 years required
9-10: Students choose from the following yearlong courses: 2-D Art; 3-D Art; Ceramics; Darkroom Photography; Digital Photography; Chorus; Chamber Ensemble; Jazz Band; Dance; Theatre; Print Making & Alternative Processes; Digital Media 11-12: Students may also choose from the following two-year courses: IB Visual Arts (SL/HL); IB Theatre (SL/HL); IB Dance (SL/ HL); IB Music (SL/HL) Religion, Philosophy, Ethics 9: Quakerism [1 semester, required] 10: World Religions [2 semesters, elective]
11-12: IB Theory of Knowledge [3 semesters, required for IB Diploma candidates] or Philosophy [1 semester required in grade 11 or 12] or Quakerism 2 [1 semester, elective]
Other graduation requirements 9-12: Physical Education 9: Study Skills [1 year] and Life Skills/Health [1 year] 10: Service and Justice Seminar
of IB students received the diploma over the past four years at Brooklyn Friends School
The IB Diploma Program at Brooklyn Friends School An IB World School, Brooklyn Friends offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in 11th and 12th grades. Students may choose to pursue the full IB Diploma or take individual IB courses to earn certificates.
IB Diploma Candidates Must:
Choose 6 two–year IB courses, a minimum of one each from the Subject Groups. See list at right. Take at least 3 of the 6 courses at Higher Level, with the remainder at Standard Level Take a 3-semester Theory of Knowledge course that culminates in a 1,600 word Essay and Oral Presentation Complete a 4,000 word Extended Essay, which is an independent research project on a topic of the student’s choice Fulfill a comprehensive Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirement
Subject Groups
1: Language and Literature: English Literature 2: Language Acquisition: Spanish B, French B Spanish Ab Initio, French Ab Initio, Mandarin Ab Initio, Latin 3: Individuals and Societies: History 4: Sciences: Biology or Environmental Systems and Societies; Physics Physics may only be taken as an additional science, in place of an Arts course
5: Mathematics: Math Studies or Mathematics 6: The Arts: Visual Arts, Theater, Music, or Dance Instead of an Arts course, students may choose to take Physics or Latin
of the student body participates in athletics College Counseling
The personal and specialized attention devoted to guiding our students in choosing a college that is right for them is a distinguishing characteristic of the Upper School program. Applicants from Quaker schools like BFS have a special appeal to colleges by virtue of their strong academic focus, high level of community engagement, and ease with relationships. Every year, BFS seniors gain admission to an extraordinary range of institutions that include Ivy League universities, top liberal arts colleges, as well as pre-eminent art schools and conservatories. Our graduates report back that Brooklyn Friends School has prepared them well for higher education and college life.
The Arts
The arts are much more than an academic exercise in the BFS Upper School. They are a way of life and a passion to be shared and celebrated. Every year there are two major visual arts exhibits, a dance concert, six music concerts, and two full-scale theater productions. There are several other music, theater, and dance presentations, which are student-led and student-staged.
Athletics
Fall Girls Volleyball (JV & V) Girls Soccer Boys Soccer Girls Cross-Country Boys Cross-Country Winter Girls Basketball (JV & V) Boys Basketball (JV & V) Girls Indoor Track Boys Indoor Track Spring Girls Softball Boys Baseball Boys Volleyball Girls Outdoor Track Boys Outdoor Track
College Acceptances Graduates of the Brooklyn Friends School Classes of 2012 through 2016 were accepted at the following colleges. An asterisk (*) indicates that at least one BFS alumna/alumnus currently attends that college or university. Alfred University Allegheny College* American University* Amherst College* Arcadia University University of Arizona* Babson College Bard College* Barnard College* Bates College* Beloit College Bennington College* Berklee College of Music Binghamton University* Boston University* Bowdoin College* Brandeis University* University of British Columbia Brooklyn College of the CUNY* Brown University* Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University* Buffalo State College of SUNY Buffalo State University of SUNY California Institute of the Arts University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles* University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Cruz Carleton College* Case Western Reserve University Centenary College Central Connecticut State University Champlain College University of Chicago* City College of New York CUNY Clark University Clarkson University Colgate University* College of Saint Rose College of the Atlantic College of the Holy Cross College of William and Mary College of Wooster University of Colorado at Boulder University of Colorado at Denver Colorado College* Columbia College Chicago Columbia University* Connecticut College* University of Connecticut Cornell University Curry College* Davidson College* Dean College Delaware Valley University University of Delaware DePaul University* DeSales University Dickinson College*
Drew University Drexel University* Durham University Earlham College Eckerd College* University of Edinburgh Elon University Emerson College* Emory University* Evergreen State College* Fairfield University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall College* George Mason University George Washington University* Georgetown University Gettysburg College Goucher College Green Mountain College Grinnell College Guilford College* Hampshire College* Hampton University University of Hartford* Hartwick College Haverford College High Point University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Howard University Humboldt State University Hunter College of the CUNY Indiana University at Bloomington* Iona College* Ithaca College* Johns Hopkins University* Juniata College* Kenyon College* Knox College* Lafayette College Landmark College Lehigh University Lewis & Clark College* Long Island University, Brooklyn Louisiana State University Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans* Lycoming College Lynn University Macalester College* Manhattan College Manhattanville College Marist College Maryland Institute College of Art* University of Maryland, College Park* Marymount Manhattan College Massachusetts Institute of Technology* University of Massachusetts, Amherst McDaniel College* McGill University
Miami University, Oxford University of Miami* University of Michigan Middlebury College* Molloy College Morehouse College Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College* New School - All Divisions* New York City College of Technology New York University* University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill* University of North Carolina School of the Arts* Northeastern University* Northwestern University* Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences* Occidental College* Oglethorpe University Ohio State University* Oregon State University Pace University* University of Pennsylvania* University of Pittsburgh Pitzer College* Pomona College* Pratt Institute* University of Puget Sound Quest University Canada Quinnipiac University* University of Redlands Reed College* Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute* Rhode Island School of Design* Rhodes College Richmond The American International College in London University of Richmond* Rider University Rochester Institute of Technology* Roger Williams University Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rutgers University-New Brunswick Saint Joseph’s University Saint Mary’s College of California University of San Francisco Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design* School of the Museum of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts* University of Scranton Scripps College Seton Hall University Sewanee: The University of the South 375 Siena College* Skidmore College*
Smith College* University of Southern California* Spelman College Springfield College University of St Andrews St. Andrews University St. John’s University Queens Campus* St. Lawrence University Stanford University* Stony Brook University Suffolk University SUNY Albany SUNY Brockport* SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry SUNY Empire State College SUNY Geneseo* SUNY Morrisville State College* SUNY New Paltz SUNY Oneonta SUNY Oswego SUNY Plattsburgh SUNY Potsdam SUNY Purchase Susquehanna University Swarthmore College* Syracuse University* University of Tampa Temple University Trinity College* Trinity College Dublin* Tufts University* Tulane University* Union College Ursinus College* Utica College Vanderbilt University Vassar College* University of Vermont* University of Victoria Villanova University University of Virginia* Wagner College Wake Forest University Warren Wilson College Wells College Wesleyan University* Western Washington University Wheaton College MA Whitman College Willamette University Williams College University of Wisconsin, Madison* Wofford College Worcester Polytechnic Institute* Yale University*
Brooklyn Friends School
Pearl Street & 116 Lawrence Street www.brooklynfriends.org