Enrollment open at Bais Yaakov of Bay Parkway for 23-24 school year
Why do girls from Flatbush, Boro Park, Queens, Staten Island, and Crown Heights head to Bensonhurst every school day — for some, a commute over 45 minutes long?
It’s because their destination is a school where they feel successful and cherished.
Since its founding in 2007, Bais Yaakov of Bay Parkway (BYBP) — located on the edge of Boro Park — has educated and nurtured 300 girls. They emerge from BYBP with the knowledge base, skill sets, and self-esteem to succeed throughout middle and high school — and become confident, accomplished adults.
“School was a fight every morning,” remembers Mr. Dov Sufrin, whose daughter — now a BYBP graduate — struggled in a mainstream classroom. “She’d complain about stomachaches so she could stay home.”
Like Mr. Sufrin’s daughter, many BYBP students previously floundered in classrooms of 30+ girls. Despite their innate intelligence and talents, they found it difficult to keep up in class, build strong friendships, or meet key academic milestones — even in foundational areas like reading and math. They struggled to build confidence and self-esteem. They grew to hate school, because it was a place where they couldn’t succeed, no matter how hard they tried.
BYBP exists to restore their confidence, giving them the tools they need to thrive.
At BYBP, classes are 6 to 8 students max, to allow personalized attention for students who need more individual support. Core subjects, including math, reading, and kriah, are taught with a 1:1 student-teacher ratio, so students progress at their own pace. And every student receives the supplemental help she needs, including in-house therapies (PT, OT, and speech), social skills guidance, and counseling.
“We’re a traditional Bais Yaakov, with a uniform, chagigos, and rich curricula,” says Principal Mrs. Chavie Silverberg, a 35-year veteran in education. “The difference is, we have the training and resources to give every girl what they need. Our staffing structure ensures individualized attention and personalized curricula for every student, all from licensed, credentialed teachers who hold Masters degrees and specialty certifications.”
Within each classroom, learning is differentiated to meet the needs of every student.
“For example, within the same class, one girl might be working on Alef-Beis while another is mastering nekudos,” Mrs. Silverberg says. “Both girls get work modified for their learning level.”
Over the years, Bais Rivkah Preschool Principal Mrs. Chaya Sara Tenenbaum has referred dozens of students to BYBP. “The teachers know what they’re doing, and the girls get what they need,” she says. “When parents hesitate about sending their girls there, I tell them every parent who ever told me ‘My daughter doesn’t belong there’ is happy they sent their daughter. I don’t know what we’d do without the program.”
“They have a strong administration with warm, professional leadership,” says Mrs. Basya Weinstein, General Studies Principal of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park. Mrs. Weinstein regularly refers students to BYBP. “The girls we have referred — we have truly seen them blossom. The classrooms are warm and inviting places where children are empowered to shine. The staff works hard on remediating weaknesses and building on the strengths to address the whole child: academically, socially, and emotionally. ”
Within a few months of his daughter attending BYBP, Mr. Sufrin had already observed a transformation — her school-morning stomachaches disappeared. “Even when she actually was sick, she still didn’t want to miss a day!” he says. “It was remarkable.”
Mrs. Shaindel Schapiro, another parent, has similarly watched her daughter Tzippy* flourish since coming to BYBP. At her old program, Tzippy flat-out refused to attend school. “They weren’t giving her what she needed al pi darkah, and she struggled so much it crushed her confidence.”
At BYBP, the difference was apparent almost immediately. “After just a short time there, my daughter was talking about school with an excitement I’d never heard from her before. One Friday night, we saw her reading her own kapitel Tehillim, which we thought she could never do. She feels good about herself now that she can learn. I see a different child.”
For Mrs. Silverberg and her dedicated staff, the change is not a surprise: it’s the natural result of students being nurtured, supported, and cherished.
“When students have academic support — and love — school is no longer a battleground,” she says. “It’s a happy, safe place where they actively want to be.”
“Kids don’t want to be in an environment where they can’t keep up,” observes a veteran educator who has referred multiple students to the school. “At BYBP, the girls get the resources they need, on demand. They maximize their potential. And it affects their entire future! Every parent I know who’s sent a child to BYBP has been happy and thankful.”
What can parents expect their daughters to learn, with BYBP’s support?
Pre-1A students will…
- Follow classroom directions
- Engage in creative play alone and with others
- Answer questions about the parsha
- Answer questions about stories read aloud
- Recognize English and Hebrew alphabet letters and sounds, as well as numbers
First graders will…
- Understand calendars, dates & timing
- Begin to work independently with direction
- Develop a foundation of Yedios Klalios and Hebrew vocabulary
- Develop early reading skills, including decoding, spelling, and sight word recognition
- Practice addition, subtraction, and place value
- Learn about plant life in science
Second graders will…
- Understand the meaning of brachos
- Identify appropriate bracha rishonah and acharonah for different foods
- Practice double digit addition, subtraction, money and clock skills
- Begin completing worksheets independently
- Learn all about animal habitats
- Comprehend increasingly complex Parsha concepts
Third graders will…
- Find a pasuk, read, and translate in the Chumash
- Build their reading vocabulary
- Begin to infer and predict in reading
- Solve word problems in math
- Brainstorm writing concepts
- Continue adding to their Yedios Klalios base
Fourth graders will…
- Start understanding and relating to the words of davening
- Recognize more shorashim and apply prefixes and suffixes appropriately in Chumash
- Write a paragraph with a topic sentence and details
- Develop increasingly higher level critical thinking skills
- Practice and strengthen multiplication
Fifth graders will…
- Read Rashi letters and begin to analyze Rashi’s question
- Recognize and understand the 39 Melachos of Shabbos
- Practice multiplication and division and understand fractions
- Write book reports and personal narratives
- Study the circulatory and digestive systems in science
Sixth graders will…
- Comprehend and follow the stories of Navi
- Expand Chumash skills
- Practice pre-algebra skills, including fractions, decimals, and percentages
- Identify literary elements, including setting, plot, and themes
- Conduct guided science experiments
- Complete history projects
Most importantly, girls emerge from BYBP with a renewed love of learning, a deeper connection to Hashem and Yiddishkeit, a strong and warm group of friends — and a healthy self-esteem for life.
If your daughter could benefit from a warm, supportive educational environment — a place where she’ll get a chinuch “al pi darkah” — visit www.baisyaakovofbayparkway.org to learn more, or contact the school at 718-534-8711.
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