What Does the PTA/Friends of the Brooklyn New School Do?

It is the intensive, hands-on study that students do in Shore School and beyond, the way that the older students show what they've learned through Performance Based Assessments, the extra loving adults throughout the building, the field trips across the city, the camping trips, and more that make BNS special! 

The PTA's job is to support our teachers and leadership to make all those special things happen. In our work we:

• Serve as a hub and resource for families who want to build community and be hands on with their children's education

• Plan and execute popular events like Movie Nights and MakerFest

• Recruit and coordinate volunteers for school events and projects 

• Support Class Parents as they support their teachers and classes

• Organize Teacher Appreciation activities 

• Raise money to fund programs and supplies that are core to the magic of BNS. Much of what happens at BNS is not covered by the NYC Public Schools budget. Fundraising supports science instruction, bike and swim instruction, professional development, our ongoing partnership with the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) - which fosters social emotional skills through performing arts education, and dozens of other things. 

• Research and write grants that alleviate our pressure to ask families for donations 

• Create content and manage our social media to share a visual experience of what's happening at BNS, spreading the great things happening at BNS to more children in Brooklyn and the world!

  Get Involved

We know we all have different capacity and time to give and not everyone can attend in-person meetings at school. Luckily there are many different ways to be involved! Here are some ways you can spend the suggested 8 hours of time (more time than that is always welcome and highly appreciated!):

• Come to meetings

• Join a committee: Arts, Fundraising, DEI, Communications, Green, Events, Grant Writing, etc. (a lot of the committees' meetings are virtual!)

• Attend a school event with your child on an evening or weekend (like Unity Fest!)

• Become a Class Parent (Class Parents are volunteers who support teachers, organize things like class snack and chaperones, serve as a key point of communication for other families, create community with the families in the class, and more) 

• Help organize or support an event (through face painting, slicing fruit, cleaning up, looking for a local business sponsor, etc.)

• Run or bake something for a Bake Sale 

• Volunteer in your child's classroom 

• Chaperone a field trip

• Attend an academic showcase like student museums or June Share

• Be on a Performance Based Assessment (PBA) committee (these occur in the winter and spring in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades) 

• Attend a performance (like the 4th Grade Musical)

• Participate in the Families as Learning Partners program (monthly workshops BNS provides for parents about school programming and how parents can support their child's academic, socio-emotional and other vital skills)

• Donate goods or services to the BNS silent auction (or get donations from your favorite businesses) 

• Help find, project manage, or respond to grant applications

• Attend Parent Action Committee (PAC) or School Leadership Team (SLT) meetings

• Perform manual labor (painting bathrooms, fixing bikes, transporting materials, etc.)

• Be a Neighborhood Captain - organize a local playground meet-up or other event 

If you're interested in being involved with BNS this school year, please let us know by filling out this form or by emailing us at bnspta2024@bns146.org. Or just show up at the first PTA. To stay up-to-date with what’s going on with the PTA, be sure to check the weekly newsletter – out every Sunday on Konstella. Not getting the weekly newsletter? Join Konstella, find BNS in the drop down menu and choose your child’s class.