I am more than delighted to welcome you to the launching of Bard High School Early College Brooklyn. Bard Brooklyn is the fourth Bard Early College within the five boroughs of New York City, following the opening of Bard Bronx last September. We are joining a rich tradition of academic excellence that was started by Bard Manhattan in 2001 and continued faithfully by Bard Queens. Together, we offer students throughout the city the opportunity to engage in two years of high school then two years of college, during which they earn a high school diploma, 60 college credits, and an associate degree. This is made possible by a strong partnership between Bard College and the New York City Public Schools.
Bard High School Early College Brooklyn (BHSEC Brooklyn) is built on the same premise held by the other nine BHSECs across the country: there are adolescents who are not only ready to do college work early but who will thrive even more while doing so, given the right academic and social-emotional support. Our goal is to provide two years of college free of cost, especially to students who have been underrepresented in traditional colleges.
I am particularly excited that BHSEC BK is located near the border of Brownsville and East New York. From this home, we envision inspiring intellectual growth and innovation throughout Brooklyn and beyond, in a similar way to how these communities have already made amazing contributions to the world in culture, sports, entrepreneurship, liberation struggles, and yes, intellectualism.
For me, this is the closing of a circle. When my family migrated to Brooklyn in 1986, half of us lived with relatives in Crown Heights. The other half lived with relatives in Brownsville. Today, I reside in the historical Weeksville neighborhood, founded as a free Black settlement in 1838, nestled between Crown Heights and Brownsville. So after happily serving for 11 years as Assistant Principal at BHSEC Queens, I am even happier to come home to be the founding principal of Bard Brooklyn.
I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks and months, to hearing your stories, and hopefully, to welcoming your family into the Bard Early College community.
David Allen
Principal,
Bard High School Early College Brooklyn
