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Greene Hill School Plans to Add First Middle School Class in Fall 2014

By Janet Upadhye | November 7, 2013 9:37am
 The Fort Greene private school will add upwards of 20 students to their first ever middle school class.
Greene Hill School
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FORT GREENE — Greene Hill School plans to add a new sixth-grade class with space for up to 22 new students to its roster beginning in the fall of 2014, the school's founders announced.

The opening of the new middle school is timely as the Department of Education recently announced plans to reduce enrollment numbers at nearby M.S. 113. The neighborhood — currently home to only five charter and public secondary schools — is in need of more junior high school slots, parents said.

"From what I have heard, there is a real demand for more middle schools here," said Laurie Baum, middle school planning director for Greene Hill School.

And although Greene Hill is private, it is not unaffordable. The school, founded in 2008 by a group of parents and educators from Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, employs a sliding scale system of enrollment where some students, based on their family's income level, get to attend for free, while others pay up to $22,500 per year.

Once located in a small Clinton Hill loft, Greene Hill educators now teach 110 students in their new building on Adelphi Street, and parents said they are pleased with the education their kids receive.

"My son [is] in his second year [at] Greene Hill and we couldn't be happier. The school sees a child's innate curiosity as an asset; my kid loves school and learning," wrote local parent Carrie M., who added "the new middle school director is aces."

Baum is currently forging partnerships with local glass blowing group Urban Glass and the newly opened Theatre for a New Audience. The school also has partnerships with urban farming group Brooklyn Grange and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

She is also planning a new curriculum that will include learning about the Middle Ages throughout the world along with core subjects like reading and math.

"We are interested in students being able to pursue their own interests and in many ways determine their education, while also having a set curriculum in place," she said.

The school currently has students from pre-K to fifth grade. To learn more about the middle school admissions process, visit the Greene Hill School website.