MS 88 Brooklyn

MS 88 Equity Team

The Equity Team is a product of a district-wide plan to increase middle school diversity and create more inclusive and equitable middle schools in the district.

District 15 schools, including M.S. 88, are among the most socio-economically and racially segregated schools in New York City, and the schools that are more diverse struggle with fostering an inclusive school and classroom culture and curricula.

The purpose of M.S. 88’s Equity Team is to better serve and meet the needs of its diverse student population and to actively address systems of oppression to create a more equitable and inclusive school community.

The intended outcomes and benefits of M.S. 88’s Equity Team include: staff and students’ personal growth; a diverse and supportive community to advocate for equitable practices and systems within the school; anti-racism work (i.e, participation in anti-racism training, reading, and discussion to inform curriculum, pedagogy, and disciplinary practices) and understanding among students and staff; inclusive classrooms with culturally-responsive curriculum, pedagogy, and restorative practices; and school staff and student identity-based clubs.  

Core Values

Core Values are a charter and a cultural framework here at M.S. 88 designed to structure our school belief system around child growth and development.  M.S. 88 is celebrating and teaching into the Core Values of Respect, Empathy, Curiosity, Integrity, and Resilience. 

Core Values Awards

We engage parents and families in celebrating our students who exhibit Core Values by inviting them to biannual Core Values Nights.  During these evenings students are recognized by their integrated teacher teams for exhibiting Core Values and given awards for their achievement and excellence.

Core Values Enrichment Class: Life Skills

Principal’s Council

An inquiry-driven student-lead approach to school innovation.  Every year one student leader is nominated from each homeroom to bring their leadership ideas to Principal’s Council.  Students select committees to work with throughout the year and work on projects to improve their school community.  Last year, Principal Council students led the effort to win $250,000 to upgrade the school library and the auditorium.

The Mutt-i-Grees Curriculum

An innovative social and emotional learning curriculum that highlights the unique characteristics of shelter pets to teach essential skills for academic and life success.

Base Camp

In 2015, MS 88 launched an alternative approach to departmental studies based on interdisciplinary, personalized, project-based learning using the new Basecamp model developed by Summit Public Schools in California.

Base Camp (Spaceship Earth): A Year of Integrated Project-Based Learning

Taking it one step further, the teachers at MS88 developed a design-oriented framework called Spaceship Earth where all of the interdisciplinary projects the teachers developed revolve around the idea of Earth as a spaceship: The Earth is a closed system with limited and unevenly distributed resources. Through each project, students work collaboratively to apply their knowledge and cognitive skills to design solutions that address some component of this problem.

Spaceship Earth provides students with a sense of purpose and urgency in mastering focus areas (subject-specific skills), and in developing their cognitive skills and habits of success.