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From Our Principal
At Leaders, we believe that learning should be adventurous, meaningful, and joyful. Our teachers design engaging curricula that challenge students to grapple with complex ideas, make sense of the world around them, and discover what they are capable of achieving. We want our students to become not only stronger readers and thinkers, but people who experience the joy of learning and the power of their own ideas.
As a NYC Outward Bound School and a member of the NYC Performance Standards Consortium, we believe that students learn best when they are actively engaged, challenged to do things they never thought they could do, and supported by a community that believes in them. Our classrooms, crew activities, camping trips, and service projects provide opportunities for students to take risks, work together, and discover who they want to be.
One of our central priorities is making sure that every student knows they belong. We often say at Leaders, “We are crew, not passengers.” Nobody is along for the ride. We all have a role to play, we all contribute in different ways, and we work together to achieve great things. Through our relationships with one another and the challenges we take on together, students come to understand that their voices matter and that their ideas are powerful.
Our Core Values at Leaders are Leading, Learning, Contributing, and Exploring. These values guide our work every day and reflect the kind of young people we strive to help develop: thoughtful, courageous, curious, and committed to making our communities stronger and more just.
Thank you for entrusting your children to us. We look forward to partnering with you as we learn, grow, and take on new adventures together.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to your crew leader or me with any questions, ideas, or suggestions. I look forward to a great year together!
Best,
Tom Mullen
Principal
Our School
Crew is our family base where students learn from each other, build character, and grow as individuals.
Students learn how to embody the Leaders core values: Leading, Learning, Contributing, and Exploring.
Relationships are at the heart of everything we do. They allow us to lift each other, celebrate our differences, and restore harm when it occurs.
Leaders is a NYC Outward Bound School located in South Brooklyn. We pride ourselves on being a small and mighty learning community that provides access to big-world opportunities!
Our mission is to help every student discover their strengths, find their voice, and realize their full potential.
Through strong relationships, high expectations, collaboration, and meaningful learning experiences, we prepare students to lead, contribute, and thrive both in and beyond the classroom.
Our Model
NYC Outward Bound Schools is a nonprofit organization that operates a network of public schools in partnership with the NYC Public Schools.
All NYC Outward Bound Schools prepare students for college, citizenship, and the 21st-century workplace by bringing to life the central principle of Outward Bound: that combining intensive challenge with guided support enables students to achieve far more than they ever thought possible.
This model features rigorous learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom, and is built upon a culture of high achievement and mutual support. Leaders use hands-on learning with real-world applications to ignite a joy of learning and discovery in our students.
At our school, leadership, active citizenship, and character development go hand in hand with academic rigor and challenge. In 2016, EL Education recognized Leaders with a prestigious national credential for exceeding the EL standards for student achievement.
We are also a proud member of the New York Performance Standards Consortium.
Through this innovative model, students demonstrate their learning through in-depth research, analysis, problem-solving, and performance-based assessments in literacy, mathematics, science, and history.
Rather than relying solely on traditional standardized tests, students engage in meaningful work that allows them to take ownership of their learning and graduate with confidence, purpose, and pride.