OUR HISTORY
In 1938, Pastor Gerhart Herwick and the parents of the Danish Norwegian Church saw the need to open a school in Bay Ridge that would be easily accessible to their children. The school was organized with the assistance of Louise Kleuser, Educational Superintendent of the Greater New York Conference with Betty Thogunsen as the first teacher.
The school began with a one-room classroom in the basement of the church on 50th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Years later, it was closed. In 1962, it reopened under the leadership of Pastor William Goransson and his wife Dolphy who became the first teacher. The school was then held in two classrooms in the basement of the original building. Jack Mentges was the additional teacher.
In March of 1964, the Italian-American Church merged with the Danish-Norwegian Bay Ridge Church. The name of the church was changed to The Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist Church. Consequently, this became the origin of the Brooklyn S.D.A. School.
In 1970, under the leadership of Pastor Halvard J. Thomsen, and the principal Joseph Miller, the school expanded to three classrooms in the 50th Street Church and one additional classroom in Staten Island, where the first and second graders were bussed daily.
Due to the overabundance of students and crowded conditions, Pastor Thomsen searched for a new school facility, which was Viking Hall on 8th Avenue and 60th Street. The school expanded to include a Nursery/Kindergarten facility and grades 1-9.
Under the leadership of Pastor Glen Hixon, the current school building was purchased at 1260 Ocean Avenue with Yaqub Khan as principal. At this new site a grades 1-8 program was established.
In September of 1998 the Pre-K Kindergarten program was re-established under the leadership of Dr. Iola Brown.
Throughout the years the school has been blessed with outstanding principals and teachers. The current principal is Laura F. Mayne.
The aim of the school can be summed up in the following quotation:
"To restore in man the image of his maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind and soul, that the divine purpose in His creation might be realized". Education, page 15
We are thankful to God and everyone who has helped to make The Brooklyn S.D.A. School what it is today.