What if BUGS students could lead the world?

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed deep challenges to social, racial, and climate justice, making BUGS more committed than ever to providing an innovative learning community where students can develop the skills they will need to achieve a fairer and greener future, where all living systems can thrive.

From the first day of in-school learning as students pass our gardens and enter hallways featuring quotes about sustainability and signs about being a zero-waste school, they know that learning at BUGS will be meaningful and challenging. They are part of a diverse school community that cares about what they think and how to support them as a growing and changing adolescent and community member. 

The BUGS Approach

• We are guided by our school's Key Design Elements which are laid out in our Charter and can be found here.

• We encourage students to think about how kindness, compassion and our C.A.R.E.S. values build a strong community, where we have responsibility for one another and the systems that support us.

• Our strong relationships, co-teaching model, and small, supportive learning environment ensure no child falls through the cracks at this critical stage of adolescent development. Our sustainability education approach serves as the motivating and integrating force that improves students’ understanding of Next Generation core subject standards, improves higher-order critical thinking, prepares them for high school, and connects our young adolescents to their learning and their community. 

• Students learn about sustainability competencies (systems thinking, multiple perspectives, action orientation, stakeholder engagement, future thinking) and apply them across their classes to real-world problem solving and how we can use our understanding, advocacy, and creativity to build a sustainable future.

• Through coursework, enrichment classes, clubs, activism, and community service, our students understand the power of their voice and their ability to lead change.

Students will graduate from BUGS with the collaboration, critical thinking, analytic, and technology skills, as well as sustainability competencies that will help them succeed in high school, college, and the 21st-century workplace. 

Teaching and Learning at BUGS

Whether students are using statistics to understand water usage, or presenting their citizen action research projects, they are challenged to ask questions and do the deep thinking that leads to subject mastery. Educators choose to teach at BUGS because of the innovative learning going on in and outside classrooms, the emphasis on teamwork and collaboration across grades and the school, and being part of a community that cherishes a growth mindset. 

• The BUGS academic scope and sequence follows that of New York City and is aligned with the Next Generation core subject standards and is informed by the Education for Sustainability (EfS) Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. Our science sequence culminates in the New York State Regents exams in Living Environment and students have the option to study for Algebra 1 Regents. 
  

  BUGS is implementing a standards-based grading approach in all content areas. Click on the link for more information on “What You Need to Know About Standards-Based Grading.”

  • View 6th grade curriculum overview

  • View 7th grade curriculum overview

  • View 8th grade curriculum overview

• Our school design includes longer class periods and longer school year than traditional public schools because of our sustainability course sequence as well as opportunities for enrichment programs, field trips, community action projects, and project-based learning that bring to life our sustainability competencies

• BUGS uses a 1:1 chromebook system that allows for technology to be embedded in coursework in a meaningful way with students gaining fluency in analytics, presentations, video production, and coding. 

Growing at BUGS

Middle school can be a challenging time for adolescents as they explore their own sense of self and develop their identities. Within our small school, we strive to create a learning community where all students are treated with dignity and respect and encouraged to be bold, take risks, and learn from mistakes. 

Our whole-child approach includes small group advisory every morning and Quiet Time twice a day (click here to see a special segment from NY 1 about the program). Adults at BUGS model empathy and cooperation, while demonstrating how our C.A.R.E.S. values and sustainability competencies build an inclusive community that celebrates diversity and values sustainability. Our two, full-time school counselors, learning specialists, Director of Inclusion, and Office of Student Affairs collaborate with teams across the school to design programs and activities that encourage social-emotional learning for our students and families.

Family-School Partnership

The success of our students as lifelong learners and sustainability game-changers depends on a strong and enduring partnership among staff, families, students, and the community. Families are welcome to join us for open classrooms, student-led conferences, Semester Celebrations, family workshops, and Town Halls with school leaders. The BUGS PTA is a great way for families to join the community and provide the school team with opportunities to grow the family-school partnership.