Brooklyn Latin School

The Brooklyn Latin School provides a specialized, classical education, including the study of Latin and Greek, in a disciplined academic environment. It provides the groundwork for an understanding of the foundation of our society, while developing the leadership capacity of our students so that they may serve as leaders in their communities.

The Brooklyn Latin School is one of only nine specialized high schools in New York City. All TBLS students take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) for admission. There are a number of characteristics that illustrate The Brooklyn Latin School’s status as a specialized high school. First, students at The Brooklyn Latin School are expected to spend three hours on a nightly basis studying and completing their homework. Second, all students are expected to attend a four year college after graduating from TBLS. Finally, TBLS is the only specialized high school to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, an advanced academic and extra-curricular curriculum designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in the world community.

The Brooklyn Latin School offers a classical liberal arts curriculum with an emphasis on the classics and Latin language instruction. Instruction emphasizes a core knowledge of the liberal arts that students will use as the basis for further, more detailed exploration. All students are required to adhere to a core curriculum, with four years of Latin, history, mathematics, English, science, and at least two years of World Language. In all classes, students can expect a strong - and continuing - emphasis on structured writing and public speaking, as well as an overarching practice of the kind of analytical thinking that will ensure that all TBLS students are prepared for the rigors of college work.

Disciplined thinking and disciplined behavior, play a vital role in the life of TBLS. From the personal comportment of our students to their conduct in the classroom, TBLS expects the highest discipline in thinking, behavior and presentation, thereby preparing our students for leadership positions at the college level and beyond. Our commitment to discipline is further shaped by the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile, which encourages students to become inquisitive, knowledgeable, and principled, but at the same time also caring and compassionate. Perhaps the most outward sign of our disciplined environment is the distinctive uniform, whose purple accents reflect the color worn by Roman nobility. The school motto is also its guiding principle: Cui multum sit datum, multum ab eo postulabitur.

Through opportunities in the classroom and extra-curricular activities, TBLS students will be able to develop their leadership skills in school and in the outside community. The Brooklyn Latin School helps to enhance leadership skills through systematic academic exercises like declamation, in which students practice the ancient art of oratory, and Socratic Seminar, in which students follow the ancient philosopher's lead in asking thoughtful, provocative questions. Moreover, students are encouraged to become the founders and leaders of extracurricular activities. These have included a basketball team, student newspaper, and a wealth of clubs and organizations, which have all thrived due to the sense of leadership routinely instilled in TBLS students.

Service in the community is also an important aspect of our mission. As young men and women preparing to enter a global community, TBLS students are expected to make strides for a better world by volunteering in their communities and helping the less fortunate. TBLS students partner with elementary school students for a reading buddy program, participate in a Thanksgiving Day food drive, an AIDS walk and numerous other service-oriented events throughout the year that extend their educational experience beyond the classroom walls.