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 teachers combine literacy programs to help students become great readers and writers. 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. 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. We also have daily Literacy and Writing periods.
Math
The framework of our math curriculum is Saxon Math which we supplement with Exemplars, a problem-solving program, and Stern, a number sense and arithmetic program. We follow the Saxon sequence of learning objectives. However, grade level teams enrich Saxon's script through interactive games, centers, and activities. Girls Prep math instruction includes a morning meeting, as well as a math lesson each day.
Writing
Girls Prep 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
Girls Prep follows the Scott Foresman curriculum for Science and Social Studies with teachers adding hands-on enrichment activities. Social Studies instruction is tailored to community history while the enriched Science curriculum emphasizes experiential learning and scientific experimentation.
Arts and Physical Education
The girls attend music or art every day as well as physical education or yoga.
Assessment
Girls Prep 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.
- TerraNova
- DIBELS
- Rigby Running Records
- Internally Designed Interim Assessments
- Classroom Observation