Brooklyn High School of the Arts

Margaret Lacey-Berman, principal at Brooklyn High School of the Arts (BHSA), says BHSA students were always eager to participate in their performing arts classes, but rarely were engaged in their academic classes. By joining iZone360 and challenging the norms of the typical school day, BHSA teachers found a solution that is not only engaging but drives success in the classroom.

BHSA began utilizing project-based learning (PBL) as a key teaching and learning strategy. Through PBL, students complete activities designed to answer a question or solve a problem that is reflective of the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.

Camille Russ, a teacher at BHSA, saw firsthand the effect Project Based Learning had on her students.

"The first change that I noticed immediately in my classroom was the level of engagement. When I walk around my room during a class, I am no longer asking students to sit up, focus, and get to work. They are already doing all of those things. Instead, I am answering questions, providing one-on-one feedback, sharing suggestions."

Principal Lacey Berman also credits an increase in attendance, student motivation and student enegagement to this new classroom structure and, because of its immediate success, has future plans to extend the use of project-based learning at BHSA.