School Structure
As Mary McDowell Friends School has grown, the structure has been refined, dividing the school into three divisions - elementary, middle and upper - to meet the needs of more students with learning disabilities. Through elementary school, students are grouped in multi-age classes, relying on a number of factors, including age, social and emotional development and class dynamics, to determine placement. The middle and upper schools are organized by grade level in a departmentalized program.
The upper school opened in the fall of 2010. Starting with the ninth grade, one grade will be added each year so that by the 2013-14 school year, Mary McDowell Friends School will be the only K-12 school in Brooklyn exclusively dedicated to addressing the educational needs of students with learning disabilities.