BWL Learning Partners and Collaborators

Extending Learning Beyond Our Walls

At BWL, we believe in expanding and enriching our students' education through dynamic partnerships and collaborations. We work with a variety of organizations and institutions, bringing their unique expertise directly into our students' learning journeys.

Experts from these esteemed partners work hand-in-hand with our teachers, crafting unique and engaging learning experiences, allowing our students to explore various disciplines with real-world relevance.

Science, Medical, Research, and Leadership

Lenox Hill Hospital

MindUp: The Goldie Hawn Foundation

Website: home.mindup.org
Lower School students learn strategies for mental fitness and mindfulness, and gain a deeper understanding of brain function through developmentally appropriate lessons, activities, and resources that equip them with practical skills to enhance focus, resilience, and coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety.

University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill

Website: winstoncenter.unc.edu
Middle School students participate in the Teens and Tech curriculum developed by researchers at the UNC—Chapel Hill, delving into the basics of neuroscience, and helping students understand how social media and technology influence brain development.

Upper School students work with eminent neuroscientists and researchers from UNC Chapel Hill on a variety of research initiatives throughout the year, and participate in the Teen Advisory Board. Students participate in hands-on data collection and research, meeting with experts and leaders, and learning about the latest developments in neuroscience.

Weill Cornell Medicine

Website: weillcornell.org/integrative-health-program
Academic excellence with the whole child in mind is the BWL way. To continue promoting the holistic well-being of each student and family, we work with the experts of the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Integrative Health and Wellbeing Center, a leader in integrative medicine. This pioneering collaboration allows us to incorporate evidence-based integrative health practices into our school community, providing unique resources including:

Guidance on school meal offerings from the Center's nutritionist and pediatrician
Yoga, fitness, and Qi Gong instruction
Mindfulness practices integrated into the school environment through sessions led by the Center's mindfulness instructor.
Educational forums with the Center's experts
Access to consultations and treatment packages
Ongoing health and wellness information and advice through regular newsletters

Community Building and Constructive Dialogue

American Jewish Committee

Website: ajc.org
Our partnership with American Jewish Committee helps us to create and sustain a school culture that is inclusive of Jews and Jewish identity, resilient against antisemitism, and deeply committed to civic education, democratic values, and fact-based inquiry. American Jewish Committee was a key partner in the 2025 BWL Constructive Dialogue Summit.

ConnectED

Website: connecteducation.org
BWL partners with ConnectED to foster critical thinking, empathy, and respectful discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian story, antisemitism, and Jewish history. Through engaging videos, educator resources, professional development, guest speakers, and a vibrant educators’ community, ConnectED helps equip students, faculty, and staff with essential skills and tools in media literacy and courageous conversations. ConnectED was a key partner in the 2025 BWL Constructive Dialogue Summit.

Constructive Dialogue Institute

Website: constructivedialogue.org
BWL partners with the Constructive Dialogue Institute and its deep network for resources that cultivate trust, foster belonging, facilitate dialogue on challenging topics, and foster our community-wide culture that promotes our Pillar of constructive dialogue.

FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

Mill Institute

Website: https://mill-institute.org/
The Mill Institute provides training, resources, and advisory support to BWL teachers and school leaders to help us continue to build a learning culture that supports an open and rigorous exchange of ideas across the BWL community. The Mill Institute was a key partner in the 2025 BWL Constructive Dialogue Summit.

No Place for Hate

Website: noplaceforhate.org
We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment, practicing values elucidated in our Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, through our participation as a No Place for Hate School. No Place for Hate, an initiative of the Anti-Defamation League, helps schools improve their climate through education on anti-bias and bullying prevention, fostering an inclusive environment.

The Social Institute

Website: thesocialinstitute.com
One of BWL’s School Pillars is Embracing Constructive Dialogue—we believe in the transformative power of constructive dialogue in a world increasingly marked by division and polarization. Social media, in particular, provides its own unique challenges to engaging in constructive dialogue. To help address this, we partner with The Social Institute in an effort to equip students across the school with the skills they need to navigate their social worlds—online and offline—to empower student voices, and strengthen school culture. Through a positive, student-centered approach, The Social Institute provides a gamified online learning platform that empowers students to navigate their well-being, social media, and tech in ways that fuel their health, happiness, and future success. The Social Institute was a key partner in the 2025 BWL Constructive Dialogue Summit.

Classroom Connections

Billion Oyster Project

Website: billionoysterproject.org
Middle School students participate in the Billion Oyster Project, cultivating oysters in our classroom aquariums, collecting data on the oysters, and performing hands-on fieldwork at our dedicated research station on East 91st Street. The oysters cultivated by our students are transplanted into the New York City waterways as natural filtration systems and much-needed boosters of biodiversity.

ClassVR

Website: classvr.com
Our Lower School students have a unique opportunity for up-close and in-person learning without leaving the classroom. Through our partnership with ClassVR, our students take virtual field trips, interacting with 3D models of everything from the human heart to the Grand Canyon, using virtual reality headsets and specialized software that engages young minds and brings learning to life!

Let Grow

New York Sun Works

Service-Learning

Central Park Conservancy

Glamour Gals

Grassroots Grocery

Leading With Kindness / Bear Givers

Website: beargivers.org
The Leading with Kindness Initiative of Bear Givers encourages students to be more inclusive and accepting of others through acts of kindness. BWL Upper School students make and decorate teddy bears and write letters of encouragement that they deliver to children facing social and medical challenges.