College And Career Readiness

Bedford Academy is a school located in Central Brooklyn that seeks to continue to promote the social-emotional, academic and moral development of the students that we service regardless of the modality of instruction, this may include but is not limited to in-person, hybrid, or remote. Bedford Academy consistently has produced a graduation rate between 97% and 100%. In addition, 95% of pour scholars have gone on to college. Our scholars have earned the opportunity to attend a multitude of CUNY, SUNY, HBCU’s and private schools that range from Harvard University, Brown University, M.I.T, Dartmouth, Brandies, Northwestern University, Syracuse University to Howard University, Hampton University, Spellman College and Morehouse College. Through hard work and dedication, Bedford Academy continues to strive for academic and social and emotional competency within our school community.

Bedford Academy services a predominantly African American population which is roughly even between young lady’s and young men. Our poverty rate is 65%.

THERE ARE THREE UNDERLINING ASPECTS TO THE FRAMEWORK FOR GREAT SCHOOLS BEDFORD WILL BE FOCUSING ON

Accelerate Learning and Instruction

Expansion of College classes, AP classes, SAT/ACT preparation classes, CTE classes and Computer Science classes. Increase student centered instruction.

Partnerships

Expand partnerships with Long Island University, Medgar Evers College, YMCA and Community Based Organizations

Develop People

Mentoring, PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities), MBK (My Brother’s Keeper/MSK (My Sister’s Keeper), SLT (School Leadership Team), Common Planning, Instructional Cabinet, Inquiry Teams, Teacher Team Leaders, SAC (Student Advisory Council) & BSAC (Brooklyn Superintendents Advisory Council).

BEDFORD ACADEMY PRIORITIES

Promote, develop, implement and reflect on the utilization of CR-SE (Culturally Responsive-Social-Emotional) programs to promote academic achievement
Expand and create additional college/university partnerships in order to accelerate learning and instruction in order to expand academic rigor.
Implement a Professional Learning Community that helps to craft six principles: (1) Common mission, vision, values, and goals: (2) Systems for prevention and intervention; (3) Collaborative teaming for teaching and learning; (4) Data driven decision making and continuous improvement; (5) Active engagement from family and community; and (6) Building sustainable leadership capacity

MISSION VS. VISION

A mission is what you do on a daily basis to promote student development. A vision is what you seek to accomplish on a long-term basis. The mission of Bedford Academy is predicated on one simple slogan, “education is the birthright of every child”. Our collective vision must be articulated through our examination of what is known as the social network theory. The theory is based on examining networks among teachers and school leaders, contrasting formal and informal organizational structures, and exploring the mechanisms by which ideas, information, and influence flow from person to person and group to group. One of the key factors of network theory believes that the success or failure of education reform, ultimately is not solely the result of technical plans and blueprints, but of the relational ties that support or constrain the pace, depth, and direction of change. During the next three to five years, one of the goals is to examine how Bedford academy formalizes our social network to act in concert with each other to formally craft a collective vision.

Bedford Academy Charter

We aim to foster an environment in which everyone is supported and valued by teachers, parents, guardians and staff. In order to achieve this, we commit to the following core values:

• Communication between all members of the Bedford Family.
• Trust in the staff’s professional responsibility to guide the students’ academic social and emotional development.
• A supportive environment that both challenges and nurtures all members of the community
• A high standard of integrity and character on which every member of the community holds each other accountable
• Investment in community spirit to be instilled in the heart and minds of all in the community.

COURSES AND PROGRAMS

Bedford Academy majors

• Pre-Law
• Pre-Med
• Pre-Education
• Pre-Engineering
• Liberal Arts

Bedford offers many courses to its scholars, including:

• Freshman Seminar
• Junior Seminar
• Senior Seminar
• Perspectives in Leadership (MBK) My Brother’s Keeper
• Perspectives in Leadership (MSK) My Sisters Keeper
• Pre-engineering
• Robotics
• Cyber journalism
• Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
• Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition
• Advanced Placement Music Theory
• Advanced Placement U.S. History
• Advanced Placement World History
• Advanced Placement Calculus AB
• Advanced Placement Statistics
• Advanced Placement Environmental Science
• Advanced Placement Biology
• Advanced Placement Computer Science
• Advanced Placement Capstone
• Advanced Placement Participation in Government
• Advanced Placement World Geography

COLLEGE PARTNERSHIPS

• Long Island University
• Syracuse University
• SUNY at Albany
• St. Joseph’s College
• Medgar Evers College
• Monroe College

Our instructional theory of action is based on Critical Race Theory. A theory of action helps educators develop a rationale behind the strategies they choose and articulates the thinking behind their decisions.

Critical Race Theory - Critical Race studies in education could be defined as a critique of racism as a system of oppression and exploitation that explores the historic and contemporary constructions and manifestations of race in our society with particular attention to how these issues are manifested in schools. Critical Race studies in education then—like critical pedagogy—is ultimately concerned with employing multiple methods and borrowing from diverse traditions in the law, sociology, ethnic studies and other fields to formulate a robust analysis of race and racism as a social, political and economic system of advantages and disadvantages accorded to social groups based on their skin color and status in a clearly defined racial hierarchy. This concept is a further analysis of culturally relevant education and provides for equity (in education, equity means that personal or social circumstances such as gender, ethnic origin or family background, are not obstacles to achieving educational success).