Information Package
DOCUMENT 1 - UNIFORMS, BOOKS, MATERIALS & NECESSITIES
DOCUMENT 2 - APPLICATION PROCEDURES
DOCUMENT 3 - WHY CHOOSE THE BRIDGES ACADEMY?
DOCUMENT 4 - WHERE DO THEY COME FROM & WHERE DO THEY GO
DOCUMENT 5 - FINANCIAL MATTERS
DOCUMENT 6 - MISSION - PHILOSOPHY - VISION
DOCUMENT 7 - ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS
DOCUMENT 8 - AUXILIARY PROGRAMS
Uniforms, Books, Materials, and Necessities
Uniforms: Uniforms are required of all students Kindergarten through 8th Grade. They are supplied primarily by Campus Outfitters, College Park, MD.
Textbooks: Textbook fees for students in Nursery (3 years old) through 8th Grade are due upon initial enrollment acceptance and thereafter by June 30, with registration for the coming school year.
Materials and Supplies: Initial supplies for each school year are purchased in bulk from the registration fee, in order that each student might have the precise equipment, supplies and materials required by each specific teacher. However, parents are provided an itemized list of supplies. Parents must provide similar supplies for use at home and replenish supplies for school, as needed by the student. ALL students must bring an old long sleeve shirt that is large enough to protect clothing from the shoulder to the knee for arts and/or crafts projects.
Pre-School Necessities: Each preschooler is to provide for naptime, a flat, single bed sheet that is any color EXCEPT white. Kindergartners are to bring a thick hand towel for resting their heads on a table. A COMPLETE change of clothing, including socks MUST be provided for accidents and mishaps of pre- schoolers and kindergartners
Application Procedures
- Parent Visit
- Application
- Child's Visit
- Confidential Recommendation Forms
- Request for School Records
- Placement Testing
- Notification
Why Choose The Bridges Academy?
With and through the cooperative efforts of parent and teacher; home and school to raise up and support the child, Bridges Academy students are educated with a duality of purpose connecting the pillars of each bridge of knowledge.
To Bridge Scholarship and Wisdom - Students are Taught the traditional lessons of history and science, upon which they will be tested and judged in this society. And, they are Enlightened with yet unaccepted contradictions in history and with still unacknowledged contributions of many cultures. Then, they are Empowered with the wisdom of the elders to know when and how to use each.
To Bridge Language and Communication - Students are Encouraged to maintain their family language, whether it be Black English of African Americans, Patois of the Caribbean, Hispanic or Native American Dialects of North, Central and South America, Tribal or Regional Tongues of Africa and Asia, or Americanizations of European Languages. However, all are Required to master and use Standard English in formal communication, as well as Acquire skill in a third language.
To Bridge Politics and Citizenship - Students are able to Embrace the different philosophical and political ideologies of any National group. But, they must Learn and Conform to the responsibilities of citizens and residents of the United States of America.
To Bridge Rites and Rights - Students are Permitted to practice and Urged to share any non; infringing rites and traditions of their religious and native cultures, with their fellow students and the school family. However, they Must Respect the rights of others to do likewise.
As a final requisite for graduation, students should demonstrate their Bridge Building skills on an international journey.
Where Do They Come From/Where Do They Go?
| ANGOLA | DOMINICAN REP. | GUINEA | NEVIS | SPAIN |
| ANGUILLA | ECUADOR | GUYANA | NIGERIA | SUDAN |
| BAHAMAS | EGYPT | HAITI | NIGERIA | THAILAND |
| BARBADOS | EL SALVADOR | IRELAND | PANAMA | TRINIDAD TOBAGO |
| BRAZIL | ENGLAND | JAMAICA | PERU | UNITED STATES |
| BURKINA FASO | ETHIOPIA | JAPAN | PUERTO RICO | VENEZUELA |
| CAMEROON | GAMBIA | KOREA | ST. THOMAS | VIET NAM |
| CAPE VERDE | GERMANY | LIBERIA | SIERRA LEON | |
| CHINA | GRENADA | MALI | SENEGAL | |
| COSTA RICA | GUATEMALA | MARTINIQUE | SOUTH AFRICA |
Bridges students have continued their academic success in other private and selected programs in local public high schools and later in the institutions as listed below:
HIGH SCHOOLS
- Private: Burke; Carroll; DeMatha; Georgetown Day; Gonzaga; Heights; Piney Woods; Queen Anne; Sankofa; Seton; Sidwell; Stone Ridge; Ujamaa; St. Albans
- DCPS: Banneker; Cardozo; Coolidge; Dunbar; Ellington; Roosevelt; School Without Walls; Wilson; Woodson; Edison Friendship; Hyde Leadership; Eastern; Chavez
- PG County: DuVal; Roosevelt; Northwestern; Crossland; Oxon Hill; Bowie; Douglass
- Montgomery County: Kennedy; Paint Branch; Blair; Blake
- Fairfax County: Potomac
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
- Howard; Morehouse; Xavier; Florida A & M; Salisbury State; Pitt; UDC; Bowie; Maryland; Hampton; Delaware St.; Norfolk; Cheyney; Rensselaer; Delaware; Frostburg; UNC; Vanderbilt; Arcadia; U. Delaware; Macalester; Temple; Kentucky St.; Yale; Harvard
Financial Matters
Registration
Registration for new students is accepted between April 1 and June 1 following completion of the application and acceptance procedure. It may continue if there are vacancies in a class' enrollment. For returning students, registration for the following year occurs during April. The registration fee is $100. If this is not paid by July 1, it will be assumed that your child will not be returning to The Bridges Academy for the following academic year.
Tuition Payment Plans
- The Bridges Academy offers its families four tuition payment plans:
- One Payment: Full tuition for the academic year is paid by August 1.
- Two Payments: The total tuition is paid in two equal installments due August 1 and January 1.
- Four Payments: The total tuition is paid in four equal installments due August, November, February and May 1.
- Nine Payments: The total tuition is paid in nine equal payments, due the 1st of the months August through May.
Multiple Children
Tuition for a second child from the same family in the same academic year will be reduced by 20%. Tuition for a third child from the same family in the same academic year will be reduced by 35%.
Fund Raising Commitment
Because The Bridges Academy's modest tuition covers the basics only; there are two major fundraisers each year to purchase those things that make Bridges unique and special. Fund raising must be a whole school effort in order to be effective. Each family MUST PARTICIPATE FULLY by meeting each project minimum or making a $100 donation to each. Non-participating families will have fund raising commitments added to students' tuition accounts.
Mission - Philosophy - Vision
With and through the cooperative efforts of parent and teacher - home and school, our MISSION is to raise up and support the child. Bridges Academy students are educated with a duality of purpose connecting the pillars of each bridge of knowledge. Through this collaboration, we seek to mold the total student, academically, physically, socially and morally.
It is our PHILOSOPHY that all children learn, and given adequate opportunities for exposure and first hand encounters, most can excel. To this end, The Bridges Academy maintains a stimulating learning environment, provides quality education and encourages a sense of community through a broad range of experiences both within and outside the classroom. We perceive our educational mission as an integral component in the development of world citizens for the international community of the next century. Thus, we commit ourselves to accepting children where they are and showing them the heights to which they can soar.
The VISION of the Bridges Academy is to be a school of choice for parents seeking academic, physical, social and moral excellence in the development of their children. To fulfill this vision, we are sensitive to the needs of the population we serve. We strive to exceed all expectations by making excellence the standard by which we are measured as well as the standard by which we measure as we develop the leaders of the twenty- first century.
Activities and Special Events
Devotions
The Bridges Academy family has parents, students and staff from many different countries, cultures and religions. Each week, a class leads the school in the sharing of related morning devotions.
SCOW – Student Citizens of the World
From time to time a class makes a presentation to the rest of the student body sharing information and activities they have learned in the study of a different country, culture or religion.
Programs
Opportunities for the students to "show-off" are provided in these annual activities and presentations:
- Harvest Dinner Spring Arts Festiva
- Winter Pageant Parades
- Heritages Kindergarten and Eighth Grade Graduations
Trips
Monthly, cultural and educational trips and activities in and around the metropolitan area are planned by class or as a school. Most are listed on the monthly calendar. However, there are also unscheduled or spontaneous trips related to class work. End of the year class trips take us great distances to adventure far and near.
Birthdays
The Bridges Academy recognizes the birthdays of students during the final week of each month. Individual birthdays may be celebrated with the class on Fridays of each week.
Auxiliary Programs
Meals
The Bridges Academy provides breakfast and an afternoon snack to all students, and lunch to preschool students only, at no additional cost. There is no reduction or remission of tuition for meals not taken. Lunch is available to students in grades one through eight at a nominal monthly cost September through May.
Students with special medical, religious and/or philosophical dietary restrictions are required to provide their own meals on days when the daily menu is in conflict with those restrictions. It is the responsibility of the parent, not the school, to determine such dietary conflicts, and make the necessary provisions. There are no meal alternatives provided by the school.
After School Study and Activities
Because of legal ramifications, any student remaining in the school after 4:30 pm (and not involved in a scheduled activity) must attend the supervised after-school study and activity program. This program provides skilled high school and college students and sometimes teachers who assist students with homework and supervise organized activities.
The annual cost of the after-school program is $600 for individual students and $1000 for families. Payment is to be made in three installments on September, December and March 15th of the school year. After-school service is also available as needed on a monthly basis, the fee for which is due on the first day of the month in which the service is required.
After school care for preschoolers is provided at no cost. However, they must be picked up by 6:00 PM, otherwise there is a $35.00 late fee due upon arrival.