Our Public Prep Schools
Girls Prep Lower East Side Elementary School
Girls Prep LES is the first all-girls charter school in New York City. Our outstanding results led our founders to create the Public Prep Network.
Girls Prep Lower East Side Middle School
The Girls Prep Middle School builds on the strong foundation of our elementary school. We prepare our students to graduate from college and succeed in life.
Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School
Girls Prep Bronx is a new charter school that opened in the South Bronx in the fall of 2009. Our school is a replication of Girls Prep Lower East Side.
Boys Prep Elementary School
In Spring 2010, Public Prep was granted its third charter from SUNY's Charter Schools Institute, in order to open its first all-boys school — the Boys Preparatory Charter School of New York. We are currently accepting applications for the Founding Principal position.
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Proven Academics
English Language Arts
Girls Prep Bronx teachers combine literacy programs to help students become great readers and writers. Through a balanced literacy framework, we blend interactive read-alouds, shared reading, independent reading, literacy center activities, word study, language concept study, and guided reading. Literacy instruction takes place throughout the day in all subject areas.
Every day, each student receives 45 minutes of small group instruction during Reading Group which includes word study, language concept study, and guided reading. We also have daily Reading and Writing periods. The student-teacher ratio during reading group is approximately 6:1. In grades K-1 this time is spent teaching phonics, developing phonemic awareness, developing reading strategies, decoding, and developing comprehension. In the later grades, the focus shifts to reading for meaning, developing comprehension skills, and discussing and evaluating literature.
Math
The core of our math curriculum is enVision Math which we supplement with Investigations, a hands-on number sense program; Exemplars, standards-based performance tasks; and Everyday Counts, a daily calendar math program. Grade level teams enrich enVision through interactive games, centers, and activities. Girls Prep Bronx math instruction includes the daily calendar math meeting, as well as a math lesson each day.
Writing
Girls Prep Bronx students have a 45 minute daily writing block taught in a workshop model. Each workshop begins with a mini-lesson on a specific skill or strategy. The class then works on individual writing assignments while teachers hold conferences with students. Teachers use these conferences to note general trends in their class’ writing in addition to tracking the progress of individual students. At the end of the lesson, the class comes together to share their work.
Science and Social Studies
In the early grades, Social Studies instruction is tailored to the study of self, family and community history. Fiction and non-fiction read-alouds, field trips, and research skills (like interviewing community members) enrich each standards-based unit. Girls Prep Bronx follows the Delta FOSS science curriculum which emphasizes discovery, experiential learning and scientific experimentation.
Arts and Fitness
At Girls Prep Bronx, we believe in educating the whole child. The girls receive daily fitness and arts instruction through physical education, yoga, dance, music, or visual arts.
Assessment
Girls Prep Bronx believes in standards-focused, data-driven instruction. We will use the following assessments to ensure that each of our students excels in all subject areas.
- Fountas and Pinnell Reading Benchmarks
- Internally Designed Interim Assessments
- Classroom Observation
- TerraNova