Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institution

Welcome to the Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist School Website. We offer quality Christian Education to boys and girls from Pre-K (age 4) to Grade 8. We are committed to equip your child with the skills necessary for higher education as we build characters for Christ.

Brooklyn Adventist is the elementary school for the start of your child’s educational journey. Explore our web site to learn more, visit our school and pick up an application for your Pre K or Kindergarten child. A place is reserved for you if you apply early and accept our regulations. Limited place is available for students from grades 1 – 8.

At Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist School, we recognize that the first years are the most intensely prolific and fundamental learning years in a child’s life. Children’s earliest educational experiences help shape the kind of learners and citizen they become. For this reason, we seek to develop in our students a spirit of inquiry and a joy in learning in a Christian environment.

We hope our website provides you with the spirit that Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist School students feel when they walk through the front doors of our school. As always, we invite you to visit Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist School and see it for yourself!

Our History

In 1938, Pastor Gerhart Herwick and the parents of the Danish Norwegian Church saw the need to open a school in Bay Ridge that would be easily accessible to their children. The school was organized with the assistance of Louise Kleuser, Educational Superintendent of the Greater New York Conference with Betty Thogunsen as the first teacher.

The school began with a one-room classroom in the basement of the church on 50th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Years later, it was closed. In 1962, it reopened under the leadership of Pastor William Goransson and his wife Dolphy who became the first teacher. The school was then held in two classrooms in the basement of the original building. Jack Mentges was the additional teacher.

In March of 1964, the Italian-American Church merged with the Danish-Norwegian Bay Ridge Church. The name of the church was changed to The Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist Church. Consequently, this became the origin of the Brooklyn S.D.A. School.

In 1970, under the leadership of Pastor Halvard J. Thomsen, and the principal Joseph Miller, the school expanded to three classrooms in the 50th Street Church and one additional classroom in Staten Island, where the first and second graders were bussed daily.

Due to the overabundance of students and crowded conditions, Pastor Thomsen searched for a new school facility, which was Viking Hall on 8th Avenue and 60th Street. The school expanded to include a Nursery/Kindergarten facility and grades 1-9.

Under the leadership of Pastor Glen Hixon, the current school building was purchased at 1260 Ocean Avenue with Yaqub Khan as principal. At this new site a grades 1-8 program was established.

In September of 1998 the Pre-K Kindergarten program was re-established under the leadership of Dr. Iola Brown.

Throughout the years the school has been blessed with outstanding principals and teachers. The current principal is Laura F. Mayne.

The aim of the school can be summed up in the following quotation:

"To restore in man the image of his maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind and soul, that the divine purpose in His creation might be realized". Education, page 15

We are thankful to God and everyone who has helped to make The Brooklyn S.D.A. School what it is today.

Philosophy and Objectives

The educational philosophy, which gives character to the school, has been well summarized as follows:

“True education means more than a pursuit of a certain course of study. It means more than a preparation for the life that now is. It has to do with the whole being; and the period of existence possible to man” (Education, page 13)

In the Adventist concept, Christian Education is designed to provide opportunities for the maximum development of mental, spiritual, social and physical faculties. The curriculum is planned and textbooks are selected to meet this goal.

In a Christian School, the tone of the entire school must give evidence of its religious objectives. Not only will the Bible Classes have a prominent place in the program, but also all phases will emphasize character building.

The aim of the school can be summed up in the following quotation:

“To restore in the man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind and soul, that the Divine purpose in His creation might be realized – this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life” (Education, page 15)

• To lead the child to an awareness of God and to foster a personal relationship with Him.

• To instill in the child the ideals to integrity, honesty, purity, dependability, neatness and punctuality.

• To foster in each child the ideas of self-respect and respect for others. Race, religion or social backgrounds are not to be considered as valid criteria for measuring human worth.

• To develop in the child responsibility for his own behavior and to promote self-control.

• To encourage creative and independent thinking