The 2024-2025 Brooklyn Connections partnership program is now full. Please check back here this summer for information about the 2025-2026 program.
Brooklyn Connections is BPL’s standards-based local history education program for 4th-12th grade students. Through Connections, educators from the Center for Brooklyn History partner with local schools to teach 21st century research skills and bring Brooklyn-centric stories out of our archives and into the borough’s classrooms. Partner educators receive ample primary source and skills-based course materials, class visits from a CBH educator, and a student research trip to the Center for Brooklyn History in Brooklyn Heights.
CBH Education believes in treating students as researchers, empowering them to engage in archival work with confidence and agency.
You can find a selection of the local history topics and research skill lessons on offer on our Connections Resources page.
Please write CBHEducation@bklynlibrary.org with any questions about the program or the application process.
A word from our partner educators:
"It's the best kept secret in education. The program brings history to life. In so many instances, students are taught history as a long gone experience that they can't connect to. They don't make the self and community historical connection because of the way it is presented to them. This program bridges those pedagogical gaps by using local primary resources (that includes elders) to teach the importance of knowing self through a historical acumen. It provides students the experience of interacting with the public library in a richer way like never before—that's why I keep returning!" –Georgette Clarke, PS/IS 308 (8th Grade, Self-Contained Classroom)
"As an 18 year NYC public school teacher I was beyond impressed with the level of engagement the students displayed in response to the rigorous and enjoyable work the program and instructor provided. Brooklyn Connections created a customized curriculum for my students that gave life and relevancy to our city's rich history. Brooklyn Connections proved to be a rare and unique opportunity for students to research and learn in so many new and wonderful ways." –Lee Gabay, Brooklyn Democracy Academy (9-10th Grade, ELA)
Read about the Impact of Brooklyn Connections
In 2019-2020, Brooklyn Connections worked with Knology to learn about the impact of our program. Read their findings here:
- Looking Back to Plan Ahead (February 2020).
- Understanding Program Impact and Preparing for Remote Learning (November 2020); Appendix
FAQs
Brooklyn Connections is designed to make the research process fun and accessible for students and educators. Fully aligned with the Common Core State Standards, Brooklyn Connections anchors students in the 21st Century learning skills needed in order to achieve academic success in school and beyond. Our program is committed to fostering critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity by offering exciting learning experiences and support for your classrooms.
Brooklyn Connections’ partners receive the following COMPLIMENTARY resources and support:
- Dedicated Brooklyn Connection educator
- Teacher planning meeting and one-on-one support throughout the school year
- Customized primary source project packets, standards aligned lesson plans and graphic organizers specifically curated for your class needs
- Books and archival facsimiles for your classroom
- CBH archive tour and visit to the Othmer Library
- Unlimited access to the Brooklyn Collection archive and digitized resources
- Educator professional learning workshops
Brooklyn Connections fully aligns and complements the New York State Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts Learning Standards and the Social Studies Framework for 4th – 12th grade classrooms. Our program emphasizes research, primary and secondary source analysis, reasoning and writing. Brooklyn Connections educators are experienced in project and inquiry-based instruction and will work with you to create a stimulating and positive research experience for your students.
All Brooklyn 4th – 12th grade classes are eligible to apply to partner with Brooklyn Connections.
Brooklyn Connections is FREE to all schools in Brooklyn!
Applications to partner with Brooklyn Connections are accepted on a rolling basis until our capacity is met; however, educators are strongly encouraged to apply early. Once you've applied, a Connections Educator will reach out and discuss the best partnership schedule to fit your students' needs.
APPLY ONLINE to partner with Brooklyn Connections.
Contact CBH Education at cbheducation@bklynlibrary.org.
The Brooklyn Connections program is administered by the Brooklyn Public Library and is generously supported by The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, Epstein Teicher Philanthropies, Nissan Foundation, The Pine Tree Foundation, and National Grid.
Upcoming Events
Genealogy Workshop: Researching Your Family's Roots at the Center for Brooklyn History
Are you curious about researching your family's history, but don't know where to start? Have you watched television programs about exploring your roots, and wondered what a deep dive into your own family history might reveal? Have you always wanted to find the historical evidence behind the…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.
Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.
Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.
Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…
The Power of Story: An Intro to Oral History Workshop with The Dear Neighbor Project
Learn how to craft compelling interviews, develop thoughtful questions, and record stories in this hands-on oral history workshop led by Emmy-nominated storyteller and photographer Naeem Douglas.
This is the first session in a multi-part series designed to give participants…
BPL Book Prize Book Club: The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the 21st Century
In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize, we are celebrating all year-long with book clubs featuring past winners. This meeting, we will be discussing 2015 nonfiction winner The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the 21st Century by…
Education News from the Center for Brooklyn History
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Get Social with CBH
Online Resources
Brooklyn Newsstand
Brooklyn Newsstand is a collection of digitized Brooklyn newspapers made possible through a partnership…