Brooklyn Independent Middle School

We share a dream of what middle school could look like.

And we’re modeling it—right here in Brooklyn.

Success in middle school is one of the strongest predictors of academic readiness for high school and college. Our mission is to increase access and opportunity to high school and beyond starting with an exceptional middle school education in a socio-economically and racially diverse environment. 

Brooklyn Independent is redefining the private school education experience in New York City through a sliding-scale tuition model and intentional equity and inclusion practices, maximizing students’ learning and socio-emotional experience during the pivotal middle school years. Now entering its fifth year, Brooklyn Independent’s (“BKI”) sliding-scale tuition model has resulted in a school community as diverse as New York City: while the NY State Association of Independent School shared that 35% of its student population identified as students of color, 62% of BKI’s student body are youth of color.

During this national conversation about legacy admissions at prestigious universities and the dismantling of affirmative action, research underscores the benefits of a socio-economically diverse classroom: “...it is income segregation, not race, that is the driver of achievement gaps…"

Brooklyn Independent’s sliding scale tuition model takes direct aim at income segregation, enabling over 80% of our families to pay only what their family circumstances allow.

Our vision is to redefine the private school experience, centered in equity, access, and socio-economic diversity. "Private schooling" and "access" have never been synonymous, but BKI is playing a role in dismantling a system that needs intentional undoing, for the benefit of ALL students.