UnCharted Territory for a Brooklyn School

Second grader, Aiden, opens the door to the hall for fellow students and teachers at Leadership Prep Canarsie in Brooklyn, NY.

First grader, Nylah, folds her hands while she waits for class instruction.

Second grade teacher, Kevin Grijalva, talks to a student who has difficulty staying motivated during class.

Principal Emily Hoefling (right) observes kindergarten teacher, Greg Gorraiz (left) while he teaches a lesson on sounding out words.

Gibran Jordain-Earl, a fitness teacher and coordinator of the community involvement program at Leadership Prep Canarsie, talks to a student in the hall.

First grader, Heaven, fills out a math worksheet.

William Andreycak teaches his first grade class. Many of the teachers at Leadership Prep Canarsie graduated from top universities including Harvard, Stanford and NYU.

Students play during lunchhour.

Second grade teacher, Kevin Grijalva, teaches a lesson with a bow in his hair to illustrate the "character trait of the Month:" openmindedness.

"It started out as a joke," said Grijalva, "and it's just become a nice way to have these in-the-moment conversations about why to be open minded, why it's important, and how we can treat others with an open mind."

Second grade students walk back to class after lunch.

Founder of Memphis Delta Preparatory Charter School in Memphis, Michael McKenna (left), has drinks with Principal Emily Hoefling at Black Forest Brooklyn in Fort Greene to get advice on leading a charter school.

Principal Emily Hoefling drives second grader, Nyen, to school. His family is unable to take him to school, so to keep Nyen from dropping out, Hoefling makes it part of her morning routine to drive him instead.

Principal Emily Hoefling holds hands with second grader, Nyen, while she drives him to school.

Second grade teacher, Kevin Grijalva, takes a bus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn as part of his morning commute. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to make it to Canarsie, Brooklyn by 7 a.m. and doesn't typically get back home till around 7 p.m.

"I call it the vampire life because you wake up and it is pitch black...and most teachers I know, we don’t go home until the sun sets," said Grijalva. "The daylight that we are seeing is what comes in through the classroom windows."

Second grader, Jaydian, enters school in the morning with fellow students.

Kindergarten teacher, Stephanie Gamble, guides her student, Jahsim, through a counting exercise.

"We do a great job at really instilling good habits in our students, teaching them the value of hard work, having them experience struggle, and letting them know that it's okay to struggle," said Gamble. "They understand that that's part of the process."

Students Kai (left) and Madison (right) sit in front of the class to discuss a math lesson.

Principal Emily Hoefling goes over reading packets with teacher, Rachel Shin.

Student Adegoke goofs off in the hall.

Principal Emily Hoefling talks to a first grader who was being disruptive in class.

Second grade teacher, Kevin Grijalva, teaches one of his final reading lessons of the day.

Second grader, Nalanie, fist bumps with her teacher, Kevin Grijalva.

Principal Emily Hoefling (center) hugs student, Rajan, as she leaves a thank-you dinner hosted by Rajan's mom, Suzette Davis (second from right). After Davis told Hoefling that she was having trouble with her husband and being pushed out of their home, Hoefling offered to let Davis, Rajan, and his sister Arianna (right) stay at her apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn rent free while Davis finds a more permanent solution. In the meantime, Hoefling stays at Gibran Jordain-Earl's (left) home.

*Hover over image for captions

By Levi Sharpe Dec. 16, 2015

Many popular charter schools in New York City, which are highly rated, are known for being heavy on test prep and rigid in structure. Success Academy, the largest charter network in New York City, is the paragon of this type of model. But these models, known as "no-excuse" charters can burn out teachers. Critics also say they squelch students' creativity and their desire to be in class. A New York Times article from April 2015 described Success’ “polarizing tactics," which lead to high teacher turnover. Six months later, The Times also reported on a Success Academy charter in Fort Greene that compiled a list of kids it wanted to force out of the school. A PBS NewsHour report, “Is Kindergarten too Young to Suspend a Student?” profiled another Success charter that issued 44 suspensions to its 203 kindergarteners and 1st graders. A public school located in the same building issued none.

Leadership Prep Canarsie is a three-year-old charter in east Brooklyn. It is less heavy on test prep and not as harsh on discipline as the "no-excuse" charter model. The principal, Emily Hoefling, says that she is pushing back against the "no-excuse" model to build a school that is more connected to its community. She even drives one of her students to school every morning who wouldn't be able to attend otherwise. When another student's family fell on hard times, she opened up her apartment to them rent-free while they work on finding a more permanent solution. Hoefling's goal is to create a school where she and her staff would want to send their own children to. Her philosophy is to see students and teachers as of greater importance than scores and "bottom lines," she says.

And according to Inside Schools, a nonprofit that rates New York City schools, this model seems to be working. Not only do the students do well on state tests, the school has an unusually high attendance record and the entire staff reports that the principal is an effective manager.

*National Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists 2015 Mark of Excellence Awards for Radio In-Depth Reporting

UNCHARTED TERRITORY FOR A BROOKLYN SCHOOL

UnCharted Territory for a Brooklyn School