Bridges - Opinions Needed

[Anonymous]

I have searched threads on Bridges, but aside from people saying they are happy there, I have not really been able to get an idea of WHY people are happy there. It is nerve racking because they still do not have scores and did not meet all of their targets. So WHY is Bridges so great? Seems like it is always a fallback but then folks end up there and are happy. Is the curriculum challenging? One thread looped it into the expeditionary learning group with Two Rivers and Mundo Verde, but the website mentions nothing about expeditionary learning. Are the classes small? I will go to an upcoming open house but curious about any info people have.

[Anonymous]

I don't think Bridges is officially an expeditionary learning school, but they certainly have a lot of similarities, which you can read about on the website or learn about at an open house. Whereas at a place like Cap City, all the classes in a grade do a thematic unit for a few months, at Bridges each teacher chooses a thematic unit based on the students' interests for a month at a time.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I would love any other new information from others out there.

[Anonymous]

We have never been there, but I remember reading that kids visit before school starts and they try to match the kids with the teacher that would be best for them. That sounds pretty cool. I've also never met a family who didn't like the school (but know one who withdrew their DS because his special needs were too much for the school).

[Anonymous]

Strange that the special needs would be too much for th school...Isn't special needs their specialty?

[Anonymous]

I am a Bridges parent. We are very happy with the school. The focus on literacy development was key to us taking a spot there and they do it in a developmentally appropriate way. They are excellent at differentiation and have a good system for assessing all children throughout the year in order to address individual educational needs. The school spends its money on all of the rights things, in my opinion - no fancy or gimmicky bells and whistles. Very high-quality teaching staff and great curriculum/learning support and administrative staff. The principal is excellent (we were sold on the school after talking with her) and can provide clear information on the curriculum, educational values, etc. The school is expanding to 5th grade and we feel lucky to have gotten in. They are careful and thoughtful in what they do. Our child is not special needs, but to our untrained eyes, they do a wonderful job in that arena and the inclusion classrooms are all great (18 kids in our PreK room with a teacher and an Asst. teacher). It is not expeditionary learning -- it is project-based learning. It is a Title I school and some on this board may not be comfortable with that for their own reasons -- we are not uncomfortable with attending a Title I school. What matters to us is that the focus always be on providing a high quality education and this is definitely their focus. Hope this helps. Attending an open house will give you more info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strange that the special needs would be too much for th school...Isn't special needs their specialty?

If the special needs is too severe or too mild, they may not be a good fit. I actually know someone who attended Bridges whose SN was not found until they left for another school.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I attended the Open House and was impressed with what I saw inside the classrooms. I did find the building location to be depressing. Is there any word on whether they'll get the Sharpe building, and if they do, will the entire school move there? I know that some grades are already there.

[Anonymous]

I too heard great things about Bridges and felt incredibly lucky when we were called off the waitlist last summer, but my mind changed quickly. The first red flag was when they insisted that I hadn't turned in the enrollment forms (even though I completed them while sitting in their reception area and handed them over as soon as I was done). They called me and told me I had to bring in (a second set) of forms if I wanted my kid to stay enrolled...they also said the health forms had to be original, which wasn't an option because I had given them the original several weeks earlier. I had NO intention of paying to have my pediatrician/dentist fill out a new set of forms because they lost the first set. (strike one)

Then there was the MANDATORY orientation that only 3 other families showed up for -_- and when we got there the space was a mess...very unkept and disorganized and not so conducive to learning. (strike two)

Fast forward to the first week of school, which we expected to be chaotic, but we didn't expect our kid's asst teacher to be so rude and dismissive (lead teacher was fine). When I was trying to give him instructions about my child he just walked away while i was mid-sentence with no explanation. There were also at least 2 other times that week when he didn't even say hello when I arrived to the classroom. I also asked for clarification on several policies and got a different answer from everyone -_-, it seemed like they were just making stuff up as they went along. (strike 3)

After the second week of school, we decided to leave the school because it had too many negatives for us. When I went to fill out the withdrawl forms the principal was sitting in her office in clear earshot of me explaining to the receptionist why I was taking my child out...guess what? The principal NEVER came out to ask me why I was leaving or if they could do anything to get our family to stay. As a matter of fact, she came out of her office to get something off the printer, gave me a weird look, didn't say a word then went back to her office. (strike out)

I can't speak on the actual quality of the school, but I cant imagine it's all that great with such a poor management team in place. I'm still trying to figure out what all the hype was about....I was very, very unimpressed and i'm so glad that I made the decision to pull out early in the school year...can't imagine what a nightmare it would have been had I not done so.

[Anonymous]

I'm the pp...forgot to mention that we were in the Sharpe building which was shared by a few other schools.

[Anonymous]

I'm a current parent (at Sharpe this year but Taylor last) and actually quite surprised by the negative description above. There were several orientation sessions and the session I attended included multiple parents both this year and last. I have found the staff at the front desk to be incredibly helpful, although I will say that that is especially the case at Taylor St. My child has had two different lead teachers and two different assistant teachers and I have been impressed with their dedication and the extent to which they have attempted to engage with all parents, but I obviously can't speak to other classrooms. I agree with the earlier poster that the school is quite good at differentiation and focuses on literacy. Also, the parents in my child's classroom are engaged and virtually all seem genuinely interested in their child's education. I know less about the older grades, but feel 100% comfortable with the PS/PK education my child has received to date.

[Anonymous]

Is the PK curriculum geared toward early reading, like Appletree, or is it more play-based/free play? Is there a lot of teacher-led instruction, or do kids have more choice time? Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

We love Bridges. Our lead teacher is very experienced, warm, loves the kids. Knows her stuff. And the assistant is also super experienced and top notch. I don't know if it's all the classes, but in our class they do a fantastic job of incorporating science into play. My kid was barely three and explaining the difference between solids and liquids and why the leaves were falling from the trees.

They also have a heavy literacy component. A few of the older kids in her class are reading and writing. My kiddo is a young 3 but has nailed all her letters and their sounds. And she's sounding out basic 3 and 4- letter words, on her own, when we're reading at home. We have a couple of friends at Appletree Columbia Heights, and when it comes to academics, I don't think that Bridges is quite as hard core as Appletree. But my kiddo is super excited when it's her day to bring a book in to "read" to class and to take questions about the book she brought in.

I've noticed lately she's got her numbers up to maybe 50s or 60s. And she can do basic addition and subtraction. I'm not talking worksheets (I haven't seen any worksheets) am talking real life -- like when she complained that I had eaten two of her five strawberries, leaving her only three. (Five is bigger!)

I like that her class plays a lot. Most days she comes home with paint spots that haven't been thoroughly scrubbed from her hands or forehead. Yesterday, she came home in someone else's back-up clothes, and she informed me the entire class got soaked playing in the snow. (Parent fail -- forgot to trade out her fall back-up outfit.) They've baked bread and made marshmallows. I think they cook or prepare some kind of food every week. (They usually eat it in class, so I only hear about it later.)

I like the diversity. I like that it's a great mix of kids from middle-class and poorer families. I like that all the parents & caregivers, no matter what their means, are super engaged. At all the big events, just about every kid in our class has had a parent or guardian there. My kiddo isn't special needs, but I like the inclusion model. I like that she gets access and attention from the extra teachers who cycle through the classroom to help the few kids who do have developmental issues. I get a ton of feedback from both her teachers on what she's rocking and what we might want to practice at home.

But we love Bridges mostly because the kiddo loves it. She loves her friends. She loves her teachers. She even loves after care, which just as the principal warned us, doesn't have all the bells and whistles that other programs have. There was an afternoon this week where I sat there waiting 20 minutes for her to finish building a rocket ship with these tubes to fly to the house her best bud had just built. When school was closed last week, she couldn't wait to go back. The child begs to go when she's running a 103 degree fever.

I sent my husband to all the open houses last year, and he ended up crossing off our list a few charter schools that get rave reviews here, because he said the classrooms lacked joy. I can say that Bridges offers a lot of joy. I don't know what things are going to look like up to 5th grade. It's clear a lot of kids in her class are going to join siblings and go in-boundary to closer, neighborhood schools in K. But our plan is to stick it out through 5th.

To the previous poster who knocked Bridges, I would suggest the first week or two is kind of chaotic at a lot public schools. We've been at Bridges since the first day of class and there were no major red flags for us.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much, PP, for your detailed assessment of Bridges. I was wondering if you could talk a little more about the after-care. I went to the open house, and there was not a lot that they talked about. What do the kids do? Is is relatively structured or unstructured? Do they get a good amount of outdoor time (weather-permitting, of course)? Is the level of supervision adequate? We are definitely not looking for bells and whistles, but we want our child to be able to have fun being a kid in aftercare, with little or no screen time. I crossed Appletree off our list as soon as I heard about the academic nature of the aftercare. Also, would you mind sharing the cost of the aftercare? Finally, assuming Bridges does get Sharpe, would they do a complete renovation of the school? I have heard it is in terrible shape.

Thanks again for your very helpful post.

[Anonymous]

Aftercare is $20/day. There is a theme each month, so that some learning continues, but it is play-based and there is unstructured time. Lots of outdoor time, weather permitting. Aftercare is not fancy but it is well-supervised, there is a basic plan and the kids seem to enjoy it. I have not seen any screen time.
As for Sharpe - if Bridges gets the building they will be required to do renovations. We are in the Sharpe Building and while it is old and definitely needs work, it does not bother me much and the building has a lot of potential. I particularly like that it has a great playground and a nice garden.