• Academic excellence
• Relationships
• Focusing on the whole child
• Community service
• Accountability
• Health and wellness

 

Bradford is a college preparatory school committed to academic excellence, nurturing personal relationships, and inspiring a growing passion for creativity and learning in all of our students. 

 

In our mission statement, we affirm WE ARE COMMITTED TO EQUALITY.  Equal treatment and respect of all of our Bradford community is necessary for us to connect, grow, thrive and learn. During these extraordinarily difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the recent events in Minneapolis and across the nation show the racial divides that continue to exist in our society.  

Since the founding of Bradford Preparatory School, we have remained committed to building a school community where people of all backgrounds can grow and thrive regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, or any characteristic that makes all of us who we are. We each deserve fair and equal treatment and education. 

 

As a community, we will do more to recognize these issues. WE ARE COMMITTED TO ACTION AND DISCUSSION. 

• We commit to work with the Bradford Community to educate and eliminate racism and bias. 
• We commit to continued development of staff and leadership on the value of diversity and anti-bias practices.  

 

Highlighted below are some of the steps that have been and will be taken to continue to learn and support our mission and dedication to the entire Bradford community. 

 

• Diversity Committee- Plans were outlined last year to begin a strategic school committee focused on our diversity efforts.  The leadership and board support this committee and will be working with the school to outline steps and goals moving forward. As the committee is formalized, we will send communications surrounding involvement.  
• The school applied for the NC ACCESS grant late last year to support diversity at Bradford. This grant will give us $700,000 that will be spent over 5 years. The purpose of the grant is to increase access to our school to all student populations. The money will allow us to focus on intervention and support for all families. We hope to have final approval in August and will share more at that point. 
• Educational Equity Training will begin this school year for our staff and run for several years. This is training focuses on equity paradigm shifts, culturally responsive anti-bias practices and children with trauma.  This training will be delivered by a professional trained by the Educational Equity organization. 
• 2019-2020 school year the staff participated in  Ruby Payne- A Framework for Understanding Poverty, delivered by a certified Ruby Payne trainer. This training teaches the hidden rules of economic class and spreads the message that despite the obstacles, poverty can create in all types of interaction, there are specific strategies for overcoming them. 
• Weighted Lottery- In April, the board unanimously voted to begin using a weighted lottery. Part of our mission includes focusing on educating the whole child and developing compassionate learners in all our students. We would like to ensure that students from all diverse populations have the opportunity to benefit from our educational program and the mission of our school. As a charter school, we serve a very diverse population; however, we are not as diverse when it comes to economically disadvantaged students (EDS) and English learners(EL). These two populations do not currently mimic these populations in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School system 
• Lost Boys training- The entire staff will participate in this training this fall by Steph Jensen, a neuroscience specialist. This training focuses on the best practices for educating boys. The training is based on neuroscience and will provide practical ideas for our teachers.

 

Bradford Preparatory School uses innovative methods to provide quality education in a smaller, more responsive learning environment.  We challenge students to develop the critical thinking skills, creativity, and communication skills required for success in college and the workplace. Our school community, including the students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members work together to support the students in a way that invites learning to become a lifelong endeavor. 

Put simply, BPS differs from the local area traditional public schools in the following ways: