Bronx Leadership Academy II  is located in the 16th Congressional District, one of America's poorest communities.  In this district, 99% of children live in a high-poverty neighborhood; 52% live below the poverty line; 50% live in single-parent households; 22% have difficulty speaking English; 20% will become high school drop-outs; and 20% are not attending school regularly or working. 

 

We defy these frightening statistics each and every day; and our program is made possible by a dedicated team of teachers, supervisors and staff.  Our diverse staff, including graduates of Teachers College, Harvard School of Education, Brown School of Education and fellows from the Peace Corps and the NYC Teaching Fellows program, has worked all over the globe; each staff member has also shown leadership in his/her field.  Staff work together to plan courses, lessons and school programs; and to collaborate on specific projects.  In our second year, we doubled the size of our staff, welcoming ten new dynamic teachers and a full-time assistant principal to our BLA II family.  This incredible corps is molding and shaping and improving our program, redefining our mission and honing the tools we use to reach our students. 

 

This year, in one of our final expansion stages, we brought on seven more highly qualified staff members, including a family worker and paraprofessional, as we add new courses, expand our language program and provide much more extensive services for Special Education students.