As children grow up and become individuals, they begin to understand their identity and inner world. Our school has grown, too, and we now want to look at our past and attempt to foresee our future. Only a tree that has strong roots, a mighty trunk, and plenty of branches will grow tall and will thrive. Our school’s roots are our history, our base, and the source of our power.

We would like to tell you about our roots and recall the history of how our school was started. This is a story of a dream come true. Our school gives sense and rhythm to our lives. It is the school in which we would love to be the students if only we could turn the clock back. This story is our chance to do that.

The idea of creating the school came to us in 1992, when the parents of the kids in our Bambi Academy Daycare Center discovered that their children were far more advanced than other kids of their age. The parents saw that their children could think logically and creatively, acquired reading and counting skills, knew many facts about the world around them, knew how to swim and mastered many other skills. And most importantly: they liked spending time at Bambi, where every teacher was working very hard helping them progress, and where they had all the tools they needed to help them along the way. Neither parents nor teachers wanted the kids to leave the path that led to more knowledge, skills, and ultimately success. We thought about what steps we should take next, and realized that we were ready to move to the next level — creating not only pre-K classes, but opening a K-8 school.

In 1992 we opened the first Kindergarten class, and the school began. Bambi, our little fawn, grew up and gradually turned into a school, Big Apple Academy. The school, in turn, later matured into a large educational center, which is now not only on top of other private schools in Brooklyn, but also scores high among all the NY city schools. But back then we were just starting. We were starting a serious and tedious job: we created our own curricula, developed new teaching methods, and sought out best textbooks and workbooks; we purchased equipment, keeping in mind that our goal was to create a unique school that would have no equivalents. We saw our school as a place where children would have fun learning, where students’ enthusiasm about their studies would not vanish with time.

From the beginning, it was decided that our admission process would not be based on choosing only students who demonstrate outstanding abilities. Our mantra is — all kids are talented.  We admit children based on the results of the interview for the youngest kids; and the tests for older children. These tests are not geared towards just checking candidates’ knowledge.  The main goal of these tests is to check children’s readiness for school, analyze their thought patterns and development level; determine their main character traits and emotional characteristics. To set an interview and test dates parents need to call the school at (718)333-0300 and get all the necessary information.