Our Community

PS 3 / The Bedford Village School is the oldest public school “. . . in continuing and contiguous existence . . .” in New York City.[1]  Since the early 1700's, if not before, there has been a schoolhouse in Bedford, a farming hamlet and crossroads settled by Dutch families three hundred and fifty years ago. Photos of earlier buildings include a one-room school, which the Brooklyn Public Library claimed as home of the first public library in Brooklyn during its recent Centennial celebration. The Bedford Village School continues to be the historic cornerstone of this Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

We are a PreKindergarten-Fifth grade School-Wide Projects and Comer School of committed stakeholders, progressive leadership and instruction, and community partnerships and support. Student academic achievement through project-based learning takes place in a standards-based core curriculum of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science integrated with Arts, Technology, and Physical/Health Education. We have an active School Leadership Team involved in school management and Comprehensive Educational Plan development.

Since 1990, we have been on the forefront of educational reform in New York City. The Board of Education’s Office of School Reform sponsored our initial reform efforts. Subsequently, we were awarded grants from the DeWitt-Wallace/Readers’ Digest Fund for Library/Media Center enhancement and the Annenberg Challenge for Arts Education for Arts development. Recently, we received New York City Council grants for the improvement of Science and Technology instruction. We are involved with Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension program to foster Science education.

We are distinguished by our sustained commitment to “Cultural Education through the Arts”. All students receive sequential skills instruction in the Visual Arts and Music. We have two Visual Arts teachers. Our Music teacher, also directs our chorus, band and recorder ensemble. Education Through Music (ETM) is our partner in Music Education. They provide services to our Early Childhood students and professional development to their teachers. Class performances provide opportunities for students to experience Dance and Theater education.

NYC Department of Education’s ProjectARTS supports student museum visits to the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art and performing arts partnerships with The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall, The New York City Opera, and Forces of Nature Dance and Theater Co. The Morgan Library and Museum provides class visits and museum education to all students in grades 2-5. Recently, some teachers have received small-grants from The Independence Foundation and Donor’s Choose.

We have an active Parent-Teacher Association, which promotes home-school communications and relationships, parental involvement, and school development. Community-based Partnership With Children helps our CARE Team provide counseling, crisis-intervention, peer-mediation, and conflict resolution services. NYC’s Department of Health operates an in-school Nurse and Dental Clinic.