Sitting between Red Hook Park and the Brooklyn Community Farm and just steps from IKEA and the Red Hook Houses, BASIS Independent School opened its doors in Red Hook last September on the corner of Columbia and Bay Streets. BASIS, a K-12 private school, is run by a corporation that operates charter schools in the Midwest.
When plans for the new school first came to light in 2013, Red Hook residents and community members were split in their opinions of the school; with community members petitioning both for and against its locating to an industrial zone in Red Hook.
That December, critics speaking out at a Community Board 6 meeting argued that the 1000-seat private school was inappropriate for the working-class neighborhood that surrounded it.
Red Hook business owners worried it would obstruct traffic flow in the area and interfere with local industrial growth. In response, community supporters of the school initiated a petition on Change.org, which argued the school would bring jobs to the neighborhood, make its auditorium available to the community, and would offer a small number of local scholarships to the local community.
Now, about six months after the school opened in Red Hook, where do things stand?
Curiosity and questions abound.
Henrietta Perkins is a resident of the Red Hook Houses who has been active in community affairs. She spoke in support of BASIS back in 2014.She showed great surprise when asked about the school in February.
“I didn’t even know it had opened,” said Perkins. Two years ago, meanwhile, she had advocated alongside the plot’s landowner for approval of construction of the school because, as she said, “Why would people be against a school?”
Now, she has questions. She wonders about the school in general, whether indeed any Red Hook children have enrolled, and whether any rooms are ever available to locals. “This is a secret school,” said Perkins. “I never see anyone down there.”
The school’s website gives some insight. Students come to the school from Battery Park City, Brighton Beach, the Upper East Side, Flushing and everywhere in between, according to their page. Buses transport children to and from the school in the mornings and afternoons. Whether local children have enrolled at the school, though, remains unclear.
When contacted in February, school officials, who are currently busy with admissions for the 2016-17 term, promised to provide more insight at a later date when they had more “bandwidth” to devote to the local newspaper. They also promised a tour.
In the meantime, it can be learned from the website that information sessions for prospective students and their families are being held on various days for distinct grade levels throughout March.
At $24,000 per year, the private school costs about half as much as most other New York City private schools. It recently announced a limited High School Merit Scholarship Program based on performance and need. Videos and articles on the school blog show kindergartners learning Mandarin, and middle schoolers exploring the moon and Greece via virtual reality.
While this information, and more, is available online, locals are not in the loop.
Lillie Marshall, president of the Red Hook West Tenants Association, said, “I don’t know anything about the school – I have no idea what’s going on. Usually, anything that comes to Red Hook, we hear about or it is talked about. I just see the buses bringing kids and buses picking kids up.” Marshall had opposed the construction of the school in 2014.
Natasha Campbell, of Red Hook’s Summit Academy, indicated interaction between the two schools had been basically non-existent, but would be of interest.
“As Executive Director of this school I have yet to be contacted by BASIS Independent School,” said Campbell, adding, in the same breath, that she had not yet reached out to them, either. “But we welcome communication. And we would welcome opportunity to collaborate, should it arise.”
While BASIS is definitely in the community, it might not yet be of the community.
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4 Comments
What is the purpose of this article(or most others in the Star revue)? Is it because someone has not called/sucked up the made up group Red Hook West Tenants Association? This is a group that just expects handouts to approve things but has zero power or influence over anything in Brooklyn.
And yes, many of the students are from Red Hook.
BTW Did you call Basis and request a tour or a comment for this article?
Yes – we started calling them at the beginning of February, and finally heard from them about two weeks later, as we mentioned in the article. We look forward to a tour and will be reporting back. Thank you for your comment.
Hi Mary,
Read your article about Basis, as a parent of 6th grader, 2 years in Basis, many kids attending are from Bklyn. Moreover, Basis, happens to have a lot of diversity compared to the other private school. Their Stem based education program stresses academics, and is a good option for parents that can afford the tuition. My wife and I have lived in the area most of our lives, and were happy Basis opened up in time for my daughter. There are very few good options for parents sending their kids to great middle school. I will be addressing the school administration, concerning community involvement for this under served area. Unfortunate, the principal and many staff members are from out of state, and have been working on getting the school functioning and thriving. Originally the school starting with 200 or so student and has grow quickly, so I would give them some time to get their school going. But I know my daughter has been thriving and happy, which was not her experience at PS 29. If you want more of my feedback from a happy parent, making a significant sacrifice please feel free to email me.
Thanks so much for your comment. We are still looking forward to a tour, and are going to follow up with another article soon. I will forward your comments to our reporter, Mary.