Matilda Curley, Class IV
Photo Credit: Personal
Every morning, the L trains are filled with kids in khakis. Amidst this sea of beige, you may spot a purple, yellow, and white striped tie. Where are these students going, though?
The Brooklyn Latin School is a specialized high school located in Williamsburg. It was established in 2006 by former Headmaster Jason Griffiths. The school offers a classical liberal arts education. Brooklyn Latin was founded upon the principles of the oldest public high school in the United States - the Boston Latin School (est. 1635).
The Brooklyn Latin School uses the classical liberal arts education approach. This approach includes the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic) and the quadrivium (music, astronomy, arithmetic, and geometry). The curriculum has its roots in the Greco-Roman world. It is known to teach public speaking, critical thinking, and leadership skills.
So, why did Brooklyn Latin choose this method? According to an interview with founding Headmaster Griffiths, they said, “A classical education provides students with the opportunity to gain the knowledge, the critical thinking skills, and the moral development to live a meaningful life in community with others. In doing so, it provides students with a roadmap to help to create opportunities to make the world a better place for more people. In today’s world, this is needed more than ever.” In an ever changing world where the future can at times seem uncertain, a classical education builds a crucial skill set.
The Boston Latin School was the source of many of Brooklyn Latin's key features. According to Griffiths, “There were many aspects of Boston Latin we incorporated into TBLS: they include some of the nomenclature, a formal, structured culture, and seminar. The most obvious and important essential feature that we adopted from Boston Latin was Declamation. It is a feature that is unique to both schools, and one that most closely links the two schools.” Declamation is a typical form of assessment at TBLS, and a defining element of the school. Long before this, Public Declamation was a tradition at the Boston Latin School, beginning in colonial times. Although the practice had, according to bls.org, fallen out of favor for some time, it was reintroduced to the curriculum in the 1800’s. As a result of the integration of Public Declamation into the culture of TBLS, the two schools share fundamental values within their cultures.
Though it is important to recount the history which dates far back, examining the more recent history, too, is crucial to build an understanding of Brooklyn Latin. Despite being established only 18 years ago, The Brooklyn Latin School has its own individual story.
Griffiths explained, “First, the details regarding the school (including my appointment as the school leader) were announced in February of 2006. The school was slated to open in September of 2006. In February of 2006, the enrollment process for incoming 9th grade students was already nearing completion, the school site had not yet been selected, and we had to determine what essential features we would incorporate from Boston Latin. To build a school from scratch and open in 6 months was a daunting task.” He went on to say, “Second, the expectation was that the school would open with 200 9th grade students in September of 2006. At the end of May, we had 17 students on the roster. We opened the school year with 43 students. We added 17 students in the first two months of the school year to reach 60 students in our first year. Throughout my tenure as the school leader, we had the unequivocal support of the enrollment office, specifically of Liz Sciabarra, a long time NYC school and central office leader who supported our efforts as the team built TBLS.”
So, what about the former Headmaster Griffiths himself? His story, as well, plays an irreplaceable part in the school’s mission and vision. According to the Founding Headmaster, “I grew up in rural Pennsylvania about 30 minutes north of Scranton, PA. I attended a small, rural public school district (Mountain View School District) from grades K-8. The school district had ~900 students in grades K-12. I had wonderful teachers, coaches, and mentors. In 8th grade, I applied to and was accepted into The Scranton Preparatory School (Scranton Prep), a Jesuit high school with 800 students. My acceptance into Scranton Prep changed not only my life, but that of my sister (who also attended Scranton Prep) and parents. The life experiences that we all have had since I was accepted in 1989 would not have been possible without my admission to Scranton Prep. I attended Princeton University, where I was a first-generation college student, and I feel fortunate to have had the experience of attending Princeton.”
Griffiths then said, “As I noted, my high school experience changed my life. Our goal in starting TBLS was to create a school that would change students’ lives by having high academic standards, offering opportunities to grow and learn outside of the classroom, and providing experiences that would expose students to new ideas. These were all aspects that were central to my high school experience.” Griffiths’ personal educational background emphasizes the importance of high schools pushing their students academically, expanding their perspectives, and providing them with opportunities which they may not otherwise receive. These principles are reflected in the environment at Brooklyn Latin, which is unabashedly rigorous.
The Brooklyn Latin School may have been established recently, but the community it has built reflects its uplifting (while challenging) principles. Griffiths reflected, “The biggest highlight is the opportunity to get to know, work with, learn from, serve, and create a special school community with so many different people within New York City. There have been so many people who have given a piece of themselves since the school was founded in 2006, and I feel honored and humbled to be connected to them.”