Academics

BCSC commits to providing a balanced, standards-based education.  Our instructional resources include:

• The Houghton Mifflin Nation's Choice Edition balanced literacy program, along with resources from our comprehensive Scholastic Guided Reading library, supports teachers as they encourage students to become enthusiastic readers and writers.
• The Write Source Program, a new addition to the curriculum at BCSC, is a comprehensive, standards-based writing program designed to foster strong writing skills while nurturing the budding writer. Not only does it delve into the four main genres of writing (descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and expository), it provides extensive support for teachers and students to incorporate writing experiences in all content areas.
• The Saxon Math program, a structured series that sequentially builds computational and manipulative skills, is utilized, along with other supplementary materials to strengthen problem-solving strategies.
• The McMillan/McGraw Hill social studies program, enriched with field trips, allows students to construct an understanding of themselves, their community, and the world around them.
• The Harcourt science curriculum, supplemented with FOSS science kits, guides our students to build a strong foundation in scientific literacy and exposes them to hands-on experiments.
• Full time science, art, physical education, and music teachers expose students to a balanced, standards-based education. In art, students explore a variety of two and three dimensional art mediums including but not limited to paint, oil pastels, crayons, pencils, markers, and modeling compounds. The music program educates students in music theory, history, performance, and analysis. In physical education, the curriculum includes activities such as rhythm and dance, soccer, stepping, and cooperative team building.

In addition:

• Each classroom is equipped with two computers, which affords students opportunities to utilize literacy and math reinforcement programs, complete internet-based research, and create word documents.

• Spanish instruction is provided to students in grades 3, 4, and 5.
• To supplement the rigorous instructional and NYS assessment preparation efforts of our classroom teachers, the BCSC also offers after school ELA and Math tutoring programs and summer school to our highest need students.