"More Great Seats 4 Kids": A SUNY Charter Schools Institute Podcast · SUNY Charter Schools Institute

Preparing Students for College and Career Success at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy

January 9, 2025·32 min·2 clips

Nisha reveals how Bella's IB program teaches students to question everything, from the scientific method to their own beliefs.

This episode features Head of School Nisha Fullwood and Dean of Post-Secondary Success Cassie Megasys from the all-girls Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA) charter school. They discuss the school's comprehensive model for guiding students toward college and career pathways. The hosts explore how BELA's programs are designed to serve its community of predominantly Black and Brown young women in Brooklyn. The school was co-founded to create a continuum of all-girls education within Brooklyn neighborhoods, leading to its fifth graduating class. BELA integrates an International Baccalaureate program and a STEAM curriculum to foster critical thinking and challenge underrepresentation in certain fields. The school's post-secondary team was renamed from "college success" to reflect a value-agnostic approach toward all credentials, from beautician licenses to Ivy League acceptances. A three-person team provides dedicated support across grades, starting with post-secondary readiness classes in ninth grade. Students complete internships or jobs, with partnerships ranging from local daycares to the New York Attorney General's office. The school hosts a summer opportunities fair and uses career exposure trips to broaden student awareness. An alumni success counselor provides intensive support through the transition to college, including logistical and social-emotional preparation. The team employs a tiered model for alumni support, with the most intensive outreach for students with higher needs. Success is measured using National Student Clearinghouse data to track college enrollment and persistence, alongside internal tracking of summer programs and application trends. The team conducts deep financial aid analysis and adapts to challenges like FAFSA changes and concerns for mixed-status immigrant families. A key insight is celebrating when a student dislikes an internship, as it helps narrow their future path. The philosophy emphasizes that a post-secondary plan is a first step, not a lifelong commitment, requiring continuous relationship-building with families. The small school size and a social worker per grade enable the deep personal connections foundational to the advising process. The tone is collaborative, enthusiastic, and deeply practical, focusing on actionable strategies and program structures. The style is conversational and informative, with hosts sharing specific examples and data points from their direct experience. School leaders and counselors focused on building or refining college and career readiness programs would find this episode highly valuable. Listeners seeking a critical analysis of charter schools or broader educational policy might find the scope too narrowly focused on one school's operational model.

As heard by us

A careful look at how Bella links school, family, and post-secondary support into one pathway.

This episode traces what it takes to build Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy into a school that prepares graduates for college and career. It is most compelling when Nisha Fullwood and Cassie Megasys show how Bella ties internships, family trust, post-secondary advising, and…

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Follow how Bella builds college and career readiness from ninth grade internships to post-graduation FAFSA help.

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