Friends of the Brooklyn New School Bklyn School for Collaborative Studies

Friends of the Brooklyn New school/brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies (Friends) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to help these alternative sister schools maintain and expand current programming for art, music, applied learning in the humanities, environmental Studies, and other innovative after-school programs. In addition, Friends provides funds for the improvement of the School building itself to make it a more effective learning space. New york city department of education funding is inadequate to meet the needs of the 900+ students served by the two schools. Both schools are economically and ethnically diverse and have a strong ongoing commitment to diversity.programs and activities funded via Friends include:teaching artists: through funds obtained by Friends, a teaching artist was retained to provide music and movement instruction to elementary School students through the Brooklyn arts exchange (bax). Every bns class k-5 meets with a bax teaching artist for 14-28 weeks at different starting and ending points over the course of a full year. They work with one of two bax teaching artists donna costello and jose garcia. Classes meet 1x per week with the exception of the 4th grade that meets for double sessions or 2x per week when preparing for the 4th grade musical, the equivalent of 8 extra sessionsenvironmental trips: the third, fourth and fifth grade students participate in overnight camping trips at y camps. These camps include frost valley ymca, the ashokan center, inc and camp speers -eljabar ymca. These camps have an environmental focus, and provide hands-on enrichment to the science curriculum. In addition, for many students, this trip is a first experience in a non-urban outdoor setting. Monies raised ensure all students can participate in these trips, regardless of individual families' ability to pay.arts enrichment: funds received were used to support arts programming at kentler galleries for elementary students. Begun in 2004, the k.i.d.s. Art education program brings classes to kentler international drawing space for a 90-minute art appreciation and hands-on art making experience relating to kentler's current exhibition. Two art educators lead the class visits that help develop the students ability to express themselves through art and encourage critical and independent thinking about visual culture. the gallery visit along with the in-school post-visit per class serves to bridge the gallery experience with the classroom.other curricular expenses: funds various educational initiatives including: expenditures related to science trips and curriculum; 23 weeks of k-5 spanish enrichment classes; a 40 week sustainability program designed to impart sustainable living through student participation in: grading, recycling, composting, healthy cooking and eating, exploring nature, designing for a sustainable future, and community activism, the School library, a fourth grade sailing trip on the hudson river sloop clearwater; and the elementary School added value farm study comprised of trips to the red hook community farm where the curriculum includes: life cycles, sequencing, community interdependence, living creatures, and where our food comes from.parental, School administration & community communication: Friends supports the provision of materials, printing, and distribution costs of various printed materials such as back-pack mail, posters, notices, etc that faciliate communication within the School, and help establish a common framework for dialogue between families, teachers and the administration. Expenses include copy paper, copy machine repair, ink jet cartidges, pens, pencils, supplemental School related and other schools supplies. Also funds food and other expenses related to parents as learning partners workshop and graduation ceremonies.professional development/teacher stipends: directly funds the purchase of classroom supplies, educational materials, and field trip expenses or funds teachers reimbursements for said expenditures. Friends also funds professional development including conferences, workshops, etc.fundraising: every year Friends organizes and carries out two major fundraisers. the fall fundraiser, apple-fest, is a daytime family celebration of the fall harvest and includes food and drink sales, book sales, a bike sale, arts and crafts activites, games, and other vendor items. the spring fundraiser, eat, drink, dance, shop is an adults only night out including an online and live auction, dinner and dancing. Both fundraisers split costs and profits evenly between the two schools.