Honors

BASIS Independent Brooklyn Students Honored by National Merit Scholarship Corporation

September 19, 2025 by jogoldfarb Leave a Comment

Ofﬁcials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) just released the names of Semifinalists and Commended Scholars in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program – including 9 BASIS Independent Brooklyn students. Alexa G., Kanika R., and River W. ’26 were named as Semifinalists and will continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. Along with our semi-finalists, we proudly celebrate 6 Commended Scholars recognized by NMSC.

Photographed above: Left to right – Beckham V. ‘26, Noah R. ‘26, Head of School Harmon, Director Forde, College Counselor Brauch, Associate Head of School Yoon, Dean Robbins, Gregory S. ‘26, Philip B. ’26. Seated left to right: Sabrina M. ‘26, Alexa G. ‘26, and Kanika R. ’26.

2026 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists: Left to right – Alexa G. ‘26, Kanika R. ‘26, and River W. ’26.

High school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

“I am incredibly proud of our National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Scholars,” said Josh Harmon, Head of School at BASIS Independent Brooklyn Upper School. “Their achievements are the result of the hard work and motivation they bring to school each day. It’s wonderful to see such diligent students and positive classmates recognized for such a prestigious achievement.”

While we could talk for hours about each and every one of our seniors, we wanted to share a brief overview of the students recognized by NMSC.

· Commended Scholar Philip B. ’26 is a founding member of our school’s High School FIRST Robotics Team, a founding member of our DECA chapter, and a member of our men’s Varsity Soccer team, which made the league playoffs every year he was a member. Philip is a proud member of our Science Team that won first place in the New York State Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) last year. He is also a founding student at our school, joining us right when our doors opened in the fall of 2014.

· Semifinalist Alexa G. ’26 is the founder and president of our French Honor Society, helping to reinforce a love of the language and French culture at our school. She has taught guitar at the Red Hook Art Project since her freshman year, and this past summer, Alexa interned with a music therapist and conducted research on ways music could improve the lives of patients with dementia. She has played on the Varsity Volleyball team, helping the team make the league playoffs each of her four years, and this year she is leading the Yearbook Club with her peers. She is also a founding student at our school, joining in grade 1.

· Commended Scholar Sabrina M. ’26 envisioned and built a website for our school’s chapter of the National Honor Society to streamline the process of connecting students with teachers in our school when they need help. That tool has made a huge difference in students’ abilities to make a difference and be of service at our school. She’s also a proud member of our school’s chapter of Mu Alpha Theta, the math honors society. Sabrina is also a founding member of our FIRST Robotics Team, and she led the marketing efforts in the competitions.

· Commended Scholar Sefi O. ’26 co-founded our school’s FIRST Robotics Team and was instrumental in helping them win the Inspire Award in last year’s competition. Sefi was the driving force in establishing the team, recruiting members, and preparing for competitions last year.

· Semifinalist Kanika R. ’26 is editor-in-chief of our student news site The Grizzly, a leader in our International Student Journalism Society chapter, and president of our National Honor Society. Kanika is a proud member of our Science Team that won first place in the New York State Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) last year. She also founded the JASA chapter at our school, focused on helping underserved seniors in the New York City area.

· Commended Scholar Noah R. ’26 is an active Science Team member who helped lead the team to a first-place finish in the New York State Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) last year. He has worked hard to mentor younger students through the years. Noah is also a leader of our math honor society, Mu Alpha Theta.

· Commended Scholar Gregory S. ’26 co-founded our inaugural DECA club and went to the state championships this past year. He is the Vice President of our High School Leadership Team, and co-founded our school’s Jewish Affinity Club, where he delivered presentations and created events to educate his peers about Jewish culture and history in his first two years in our high school.

· Commended Scholar Beckham V. ’26 is a leader on the cross-country and indoor and outdoor Varsity Track Teams. He is recognized for winning awards and helping establish and build the teams at our school. He is a proud member of our Science Team that took home 1st place in the New York State TEAMS competition! He was a founding student at our school, joining in grade 1!

· Semifinalist River W. ‘26 co-founded the DECA chapter at our school and competed in the State Championship last year. She was a driving force on our Science Bowl team that won the TEAMS competition. River spent the last year working in computational oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering and has published in academic journals. River has proudly won track awards for the Varsity Track Team, and she is a science columnist for our student news site, The Grizzly. She was also one of the founding students at our school, joining in grade 1 in fall 2014.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, more than 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test

(PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February, they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

Network Results

Across our network of BASIS Independent Schools, we are celebrating 65 Semifinalists this year. Each state has different cutoff scores for honors, and our BASIS Independent Schools are located in some of the most competitive states—CA, NY, and VA—for semifinalist qualification. This achievement represents nearly one-third of the combined graduating class across our five high schools in California, New York, and Virginia—up from 25% last year.

On behalf of all BASIS Independent Schools, we are so proud of you – and of all of our students – for your continual academic achievements both big and small. Please join us in congratulating our Bears!

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK–Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bears community? To join our interest list for the next school year, please click here.

2024-2025 Year-in-Review: BASIS Independent Brooklyn

August 31, 2025 by jogoldfarb Leave a Comment

Dear Families and Staff,

The summer months bring reflection that offers a vital pause—a time to transform our hindsight into foresight. Today, we celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our students in our annual reflection, and we honor or Class of 2025 graduates from BASIS Independent Brooklyn as they embark on their university journeys.

Academic excellence unites every corner of our school. We harness data from across our BASIS Independent Schools network not just to measure progress, but also to illuminate paths forward. This is how we master both the art and science of education—turning insight into inspiration and potential into achievement.

This past school year, nearly 70% of our students earned the AP Scholar designation (scoring a 3 or higher on at least three AP Exams). This impressive result is consistent with year-over-year scores, showcasing our program’s strength. Also, in high school, we celebrated our National Merit Scholarship Finalists, Maxwell H. and Gustavo P., and we proudly celebrated three Commended Scholars: James R., Maxim S., and Ryan T. ’25.

We cheered on Gustavo P. ’25 for being named a Presidential Scholarship candidate, joining a total of nine seniors named to the distinction across our network. At the end of the year, we were thrilled to learn that Maxim S. ’25 won the Fellows Scholarship for the best Senior Project across our network. The award is an honor in and of itself and comes with a $10,000 scholarship to college.

Let’s also take a moment to reflect on our seventh graduating senior class! More than 60% of students were offered seats at universities in the top 30-ranked national and international institutions. Today, we can share that our students will matriculate at the following universities and colleges (listed by U.S. News rankings for national universities, liberal arts colleges, and then international universities):

Stanford University (2), Duke University, Northwestern University, Cornell University (3), Washington University in St. Louis, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Southern California, New York University, University of California-Irvine, Boston University, Rutgers University, University of Maryland, Purdue University (2), Northeastern University, American University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Hamilton College, Haverford College, and McGill University (2).

*Our Class of 2025 posed with Mr. Harmon, Mr. Brauch, and Mr. Yoon during the start of school last year.*

Celebrating Accomplishments

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, one thing remained the same—student accomplishments across all grades reaffirmed the vision to hold ourselves to the highest standards. Our educators took pride in providing structure and stability to support content mastery.

Our students excelled in their studies, and their accomplishments outside the classroom made us incredibly proud. An overview of 2024–2025 student accolades and significant developments follows.

Fine Arts

Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition: Eight of Mr. Opirhory’s Digital Photography students were honored in the 2025 awards. Students were recognized with the following regional awards: 3 Gold Keys, 3 Silver Keys, and 2 Honorable Mentions in photography.
Our Upper School Choir was invited to perform at Radio City Music Hall before the Christmas Spectacular once again!
Band student Nicole J. ’28 received an “Outstanding” ranking by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) for her solo flute audition, performing Sicilienne, Op. 78 by Gabriel Faure at Level 6, the highest degree of difficulty.
Choir student Katha A. ’30 received an “Outstanding” ranking by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) for her rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Our Spring Musical, Shrek, was a rave hit. Upper School drama performances in elective classes were a wonderful celebration of creativity all year long.
Our entire Fine Arts team at the Lower and Upper School hosted wonderful festivals before Winter Break and at the end of the school year.

*Scholastic Arts Gold Key Winning Photo “Old and New” by Henry B. ‘28*

Chess/Social Sciences/Languages

Our Bears won the 3rd-place team in the very competitive U1400 division at the Chess Super Nationals! Our K—Gr. 6 U100 team came in 9^th place, and Gr. 3 Milo S. went undefeated with 6 points to medal for second place in K—Gr. 3 Championships. There were many, many other chess accolades throughout the year.
Our Bears earned 6^th place in the 2025 All-Girls National Chess Championships in Chicago.
Our inaugural DECA Club headed to the NY State Competition in Rochester, making our school proud.
On the National Latin Exam, our students were decorated with honors: 6 students received Gold Summa Cum Laude, 9 students received Silver Maxima Cum Laude, 12 students received Magna Cum Laude, 13 students received Cum Laude recognition, and one Blue Certificate of Merit for the School.
Nearly all the students in Mr. Bedes’ High School French classes sat for and passed the French DELF (certification) A1, A2, or B1 exams through L’Alliance NY.
Mr. Bedes was proud to induct 16 members into our newly established French Honor Society.
In the Chinese Bridge Competition, Gr. 4 Scottie F. won 3^rd place in the Eastern Region. Two of our Gr. 3 students, Isabelle L. and Bathazar R., also received recognition!

*French Honor Society Induction Ceremony*

Math/Science

Our school won the New York State Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) competition for High School. Thank you to Physics teacher and coach Josh Winter for continuing to grow the team.
Our High School Robotics team Ori-Gen went to the Super Qualifier round of the FIRST Robotics Challenge after winning the Inspire Award 3^rd place regionally. It was their first year of competition, and we look forward to another great year ahead.
Once again, a large group of students sat for the MATH KANGAROO assessment for younger grades across both our campuses and comprised one of the largest groups yet to receive accolades from the organization.
NOETIC Math accolades poured in with national winners across several grades across both of our campuses!

*Our High School Science Team won 1^st place in the New York State TEAMS competition!*

Sports

Our Varsity Boys and Middle School Girls Tennis teams won the inaugural CPSAL Tennis Championships!
Our Middle School Flag Football team won the CPSAL League Championships after an incredible season. Go Bears!!!
Our Gr. 4-5 Co-ed Soccer Team won the CONSAT Championships. We are proud of our young student-athletes!
Our Middle School Boys won the CPSAL Indoor Track Championship, and our Middle School Girls came in 3^rd! High School Student Talia L. took first place in the Varsity Girls 1 mile and 800m.
CPSAL Boys and Girls Cross Country Team: Our Bears had a great season, and the High School Boys team took home 2nd Place, High School Girls placed 3^rd overall, and Middle School Boys placed 3^rd overall.
Our High School Flag Football and High School Boys Soccer teams made it to the league semi-finals
CSAA Varsity and JV School Volleyball Team, as well as High School Flag Boys Flag Football, made it to the league playoffs.
Our Varsity Girls Soccer Team had its first season, winning 2^nd place in the CPSAL Spring Classic Tournament.

Community Involvement

This year, our high school team arranged a Fourth Annual Day of Service in the fall to bring our community together and make a difference locally with nonprofits around Red Hook.
Our National Honor and National Junior Honor Society students dedicated more than 2,000 hours to service projects this year!
Our Lower and Upper school community donated hundreds of coats, scarves, hats, and more to our local Coat Drive in the fall.
Our community created more than 200 Thanksgiving cards for Heights and Hills to deliver with their Thanksgiving meals to seniors.
Students in our High School Program conducted a Red Hook Clean Up before Earth Day. They picked up 169 pounds of trash around the neighborhood.

These awards and examples of community involvement are an amazing testament to the school and the power of the curriculum and teachers. Most importantly, they are an incredible representation of our creative, diverse, driven scholars. It is important to us that as a school we prioritize opportunity, finding opportunities for students to showcase their skills, define their interests, and pursue their passions.

Looking Ahead

Without community, academic success is temporary and limited. We have made significant growth as a community this year, and it is our priority to support and grow in the year ahead under the guiding principles of BEARS–Belonging, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Service. Cultivating mutual respect and trust is key for our school after eleven years in Brooklyn.

Teachers continue to express to us that they love this school because they are allowed to teach the subjects they know best, the way they know best. They are allowed to share their passion for their subjects with their students, and this builds engagement. We are excited to bring new faculty into the fold and continue supporting veteran teachers returning to our campus.

As we close our thoughts on the year, we want to salute our Class of 2025 for shaping our sense of community and traditions at our school. What we want to ask from our alumni and parents is to help provide professional advice and even connect our students after they graduate to internships and opportunities as part of our expanded mentorship program.

Overall, we want our students to look back, feel a great sense of pride in their school, and share in the school’s success that they helped create. We have much to celebrate, and we are in an exciting position after eleven years of educating students in Brooklyn. We truly look forward to the year ahead!

National Junior Honor Society at BASIS Independent Bellevue

January 21, 2025 by michaeldiambri Leave a Comment

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) plays an integral role in building up the students in our Middle School Program as young leaders. As one of the premier student organizations in the nation, NJHS empowers members to contribute meaningfully to their communities while excelling academically. This year, our NJHS chapter has been busier than ever as our school continues to grow.

Character, Citizenship, Leadership, Scholarship, and Service.

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) pillars—character, citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and service—align with BLV’s mission to foster well-rounded students. NJHS encourages students to pursue academic projects and take the lead on initiatives that benefit their community. In grade 10, students transition to the National Honor Society (NHS), which introduces additional requirements to further their growth. This progression reflects BLV’s commitment to teaching foundational skills and guiding students toward confidently reaching higher levels of achievement.

The number of members fluctuates yearly depending on the number of applicants. The admittance process is rigorous, and students must re-apply annually. Students need to have earned high marks in school, complete the application questions which show examples of how they work to achieve the pillar characteristics, and write an essay based on the chosen topic. Once they have submitted their application, it is looked over by the Chapter Head and by the faculty committee which is made up of teachers from our school.

Currently, our chapter has 30 students, each doing their best to stay committed to upholding NJHS’s principles. Becoming a member of NJHS at BASIS Independent Bellevue is an honor and a responsibility. Membership requires ongoing dedication. Students must maintain strong academic standing, contribute 15 volunteer hours, and participate in NJHS activities. Students have done many creative projects such as cleaning up parks and leading informational lessons at libraries. These expectations and activities of NJHS ensure that members remain engaged and committed to their personal growth and community impact.

NJHS at BASIS Independent Bellevue: This Year so Far

At the beginning of the school year, students who had been accepted into the BASIS Independent Bellevue NJHS chapter joined the organization during our Induction Ceremony. During this event, select students read passages relating to the five pillars. Students then took their NJHS oath and received their certificate from Head of School, Dr. Thies.

In the months of November and December, BASIS Independent Bellevue hosted a food drive in partnership with Renewal Food Bank. During this time, NJHS students had the opportunity to volunteer with counting, storing, and organizing the food and hygiene products that were donated. At the end of the food drive, NJHS students went to deliver the food to the bank and received a tour to learn more about the food bank process and the communities impacted by the donations.

Lending support to our on campus community is also a passion for many of our NJHS students. For example, four grade 8 students from NJHS are currently working on a student-led project. To help support their peers in grades 6 through 8 who are taking their Pre-Comprehensive exams at the end of January, they have partnered with the primary students to create encouraging notes. The primary students wrote personal messages of support which the grade 8 students then attached to folded origami cranes that they had hand-crafted.

As our learning community grows further, NJHS is becoming a force that strengthens our student body. Through their dedication to service, leadership, and character, NJHS members set an example for their peers.

Nearly 70% of High School Students Awarded AP Scholar Distinction

September 16, 2024 by jogoldfarb Leave a Comment

At BASIS Independent Brooklyn, we prioritize celebrating our students’ accomplishments across many areas–from fine arts to community service, debate competitions, sports, and beyond. However, academic accomplishment remains a shared priority within our community. Today we can proudly share that based on the 2024 AP scores approximately 68% of our high school students qualified as Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars during their time in our program. Students move from AP Scholar to AP Scholar with Honor and then AP Scholar with Distinction. Approximately 75% of our students reach that highest level of AP Scholar with Distinction by the time they graduate.

“The AP Scholar distinctions our students earned this year are yet another measure of the success that’s earned here at BASIS Independent Brooklyn, ” said Josh Harmon, Head of School for BASIS Independent Brooklyn’s Upper School. “Academically all of our high school students qualified as AP Scholars by the time they finished their junior year. When looking at all students in grades 9-12 nearly 70% of our high school was awarded the honor of AP Scholar or higher. Moreover, our students sat for more AP exams in 2024 than ever before with the growth of our high school.”

AP Scholar awards recognize students who have demonstrated both a depth and breadth of knowledge and whose work has shown college-level mastery across multiple disciplines. The College Board awards the following distinctions for AP exams, and we have students who have achieved all levels.

- AP Scholar: students who received a score of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams.

- AP Scholar with Honors: students who received a score of 3 or higher on 4 or more exams, and have an average score of at least 3.25 across all exams taken.
- AP Scholar with Distinction: students who received a score of 3 or higher on at least 5 exams, and an average score of 3.5 across all exams taken.

Nationwide, only about 10% of students earn the distinction of AP Scholar or higher by the time they graduate (based on historic data provided by the College Board). We are thrilled to share some of the top accomplishments here:

- 75 students in our high school were named AP Scholar or higher distinctions, representing approximately 68% of our high school in May 2024 when the exams were taken.
- 75% of our seniors received the AP Scholar with Distinction, the highest award offered by the College Board.

Our school has been recognized as a Platinum Member of the AP School Honor Roll. This is the highest recognition possible for a school on the Honor Roll, and it is based on our students’ outstanding results.

Congratulations to all our students who have earned an AP Scholar Award for their performance on the exams during their High School tenure. See the full lists of student recipients updated to include the 2024 results below:

AP Scholar: Students who received a score of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams.

Victor B. ’25

Matthias B. ’25

Leo B. ’25

Eden E. ’24

Abraham G. ’27

Joaquim H. ’26

Douglas H. ’27

Gabriel H. ’26

Charlotte J. ’24

Rachel K. ’25

Katherine K. ’26

Avi L. ’24

Hendrix N. ’25

Jason P. ’25

Saajan P. ’26

Sasha T. ’25

AP Scholar with Honors: Students who received a score of 3 or higher on 4 or more AP exams and have an average score of at least 3.25 across all exams taken. Nationwide, only about 6% of students will graduate high school with this degree of recognition or higher. Nearly all of these honorees have done so well before graduation.

Wyatt A. ’26

Laila G. ’24

Archie H. ’26

Laith J. ’25

Alexa L. ’24

Viola L. ’25

AP Scholar with Distinction: Students who have a score of 3 or higher on at least 5 exams, and an average score of 3.5 across all exams taken. These students have already completed at least a semester’s worth of college credit while still in high school. Only about 4% of graduating seniors receive this award, and less than 1/10th of 1% of students receive it after sophomore year.

Overall in our high school, the following 50 students received this honor:

Philip B. ’26

Radha B. ’26

Jack B. ’24

Zeke B. ’24

Jack C. ’25

Nathaniel C. ’26

Mia C. ’26

Nicolas D. ’25

Colin D. ’25

Axel F. ’25

Sofia G. ’24

Alexa G. ’26

Samantha G. ’24

Diego G. ’24

Angelina G. ’24

Maxwell H. ’25

Mateo K. ’25

Lianna L. ’26

Aidan L. ’25

Ye L. ’24

Thomas M. ’25

Sabrina M. ’26

Dilan M. ’24

Maddox M. ’25

Ben N. ’24

Sefir O. ’26

Oliver P. ’24

Talin P. ’26

Charles P. ’24

Gustavo P. ’25

Daniel P. ’24

Kanika R. ’26

Noah R. ’26

James R. ’25

Alexander R. ’24

Skye S. ’25

Nadia S. ’25

Xinyi S. ’26

Gregory S. ’26

Maxim S. ’25

Nadine S. ’24

Yuna S. ’24

Jasmine S. ’26

Jonah S. ’24

Lucas S. ’24

Ryan T. ’25

Beckham V. ’26

Isaac W. ’24

River W. ’26

Andre Z. ’24

Photo (above): Our Class of 2025 posing with Associate Head of School Leo Yoon, Head of School Josh Harmon, and College Counselor Matt Brauch.

Please join us in congratulating our Bears!

BASIS Independent Brooklyn Students Honored by National Merit Scholarship

September 21, 2023 by msnyder

Ofﬁcials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) just released the names of Semiﬁnalists and Commended Scholars in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program – including 9 BASIS Independent Brooklyn students. Jack B. ’23 was named as a Semifinalist and will continue on in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. Along with Jack, we proudly celebrate 8 Commended Scholars recognized by NMSC.

Photographed above: Left to right – College Counselor Brauch, Head of School Harmon, Dean Goldman, Charlie P. ’24, Jack B. ’24, Samantha G. ’24, Associate Head of School Robert Runyon, Director Forde. Seated left to right: Nadine S. ’24, Alex R. 24, and Jonah S. ’24.

High school juniors entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semiﬁnalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

“I’m so grateful to have watched these students grow over the years,” said Josh Harmon, Head of School at BASIS Independent Brooklyn. “They are all exceptional students and individuals. They are very deserving of the recognition.”

The honored students at BASIS Independent Brooklyn are:

Jack B.
Syun D.
Samantha G.
Charlie P.
Daniel P.
Alex R.
Colton R.
Nadine S.
Jonah S.

While we could talk for hours about each and every one of our seniors, we wanted to share a brief overview of the students recognized by NMSC.

Jack B. ’24 is a leading player on our Varsity Basketball team who helped grow the team through the years. He is one of the founding members of our Latinx Affinity Group and our school’s chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America.
Syun D. ’23 graduated in June, and he is taking a gap year now before heading to Imperial College London to pursue an engineering degree. Syun joined our school in year one ten years ago. He founded the Aerospace Club at our school, and he was a proud member of Science Bowl with Mr. Winter.
Samantha G. ’24 is the Leadership Club President and Co-Editor of The Grizzly student news site. She has been published in the University of Pennsylvania’s Journal of Urban Education and she has a column with the Red Hook Star-Revue. She joined our school when the doors opened in 2014.
Charlie P. ’24 is interested in pursuing a career in medicine, and he won the World Food Prize New York Youth Institute as a Borlaug Scholar for his paper about obesity in Nauru. He traveled to Cornell’s Ithaca campus in March to present his results.
Alex R. ’24 won the National Strogatz Prize for Math Communication, and national and local Scholastic Arts awards through the years. He is also a proud member of our Science Bowl, which won honors in the TEAMS competition last year. He is also a founding student who has helped design more Communication Journal covers than any other student!
Colton R. ’23 graduated in the spring and is currently taking a gap year that involves meditating in Nepal without any devices. He was a key member of our band, where he led concerts with incredible drum performances.
Nadine S. ’24 just joined our Bear community last year, and she won honors in Forensics Debate League competitions and went all the way to the New York State competition last year. Nadine is a dedicated tutor at the Red Hook Art Project, and she proudly works closely with the nonprofit on events.
Jonah S. ’24. founded our Future Business Leaders of America chapter on campus, and he is the founding Director of Communications in our Leadership Club. Jonah was one of the first students at our school, and he is also one of our 15 seniors who joined BASIS Independent Brooklyn from day one.

From over 16,000 Semiﬁnalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notiﬁed of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. The scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Network Results

Across our network of BASIS Independent Schools with 187 seniors across our five campuses, we are celebrating 38 Semifinalists and 69 Commended Scholars this year! Each state has different cutoff scores for the honors, and our BASIS Independent Schools are in some of the most competitive states — CA, NY, and VA — for semifinalist qualification.