Who We Are
Miss Major Middle is a genderful, tuition-free middle school opening in Fall 2027 in Brooklyn, New York.
Our Mission
Miss Major Middle empowers all students to learn and achieve individual success within an academically rich, joyful, inclusive, and genderful environment.
Our Identity
Miss Major Middle (MMM) is a genderful, tuition-free middle school opening in Fall 2027 in Brooklyn, New York. We are built for kids and families connected to the LGBTQ+ community, and for anyone who wants a school where dignity, joy, belonging, and human complexity are at the center of learning.
MMM is not a charter school and not a private school. We are a community-funded, public-access school operating through a partnership with NYC Public Schools and deeply rooted in Community School District 13 (D13).
At MMM, academic rigor and artistic practice are not in tension—they amplify each other. Our curriculum is designed so that every student builds strong foundations in Humanities, Mathematics, and Science while engaging deeply with theater, movement, visual arts, and music.
The arts are not an escape from academics. They are the context in which academic skills become meaningful, memorable, and transferable. MMM offers a full-day, in-person, academically rigorous middle school experience that remains completely free and accessible to all families.
Honoring Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Our work honors the legacy of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, whose life teaches us that liberation begins with care, and that young people flourish when held in communities that see them fully.
“I want my memory to live on in the hearts of the grassroots.”
Our Core Values
Miss Major Middle's values are daily practices, instructional commitments, and community agreements. They shape how we teach, how we listen, how we create, and how we care for one another.
Major Work
We try our best. We listen to understand, to learn, to challenge, and to reflect.
Major Joy
We laugh, create, dance, and sing. We uplift and celebrate one another.
Major Pride
We are unique, we are brave, we belong. Our dignity is unshakeable.
Major Love
Love is our center. Love is our first response. We show love through service.
Major Light
We are brilliant individuals. We are a vibrant community. We share our light.
What Does “Genderful” Mean?
“Genderful” describes a way of being with young people that is spacious, imaginative, and liberatory. It is not simply about LGBTQ+ identities—it is about a school where all children can explore who they are, understand others, and build relationships across difference.
This is especially necessary in a time when gender expression and LGBTQ+ identity are politicized. Children deserve a school where their humanity is protected.
A genderful middle school:
- ✓Reduces shame and silence
- ✓Normalizes curiosity and care
- ✓Builds communication skills
- ✓Interrupts gender-based harm
- ✓Strengthens belonging
- ✓Supports healthy identity development
- ✓Offers children language for their lived experience
Our Model
Miss Major Middle will open with 40 students, initially enrolling 6th and 7th grades in 2027. By Fall 2028, MMM will grow into a full 6th–8th grade middle school.
Theater, Movement, and the Arts at the Heart
At MMM, theater, movement, and the arts are at the heart of our curriculum. These creative disciplines are not add-ons—they are the center of what we do. When children are invited to imagine, embody, create, and collaborate, they discover who they are and what they can do.
We offer:
- • Theater as a full-school program
- • Movement, dance, and embodied learning
- • Visual arts and design
- • Music and vocal expression
- • Humanities and STEM classes
- • Project-based learning
Theater pathways include:
- • Script writing
- • Costume and set design
- • Choreography and movement
- • Stage management
- • Lighting, sound, and tech
- • Publicity and communications
- • Visual design and props
- • Music and vocal work
- • Producing and budgeting
School-Family Partnership
MMM operates through a homeschool partnership with NYC Public Schools—but the experience for families is the same as any public, private, or charter school.
What MMM Provides
- ✓A full school day, five days a week, in our building
- ✓180-day school year with a required 3-week summer term
- ✓Rigorous academics meeting NY State standards
- ✓Arts-integrated, culturally responsive instruction
- ✓Experienced educators who know every student by name
- ✓All required homeschool documentation prepared for you
What We Ask of Families
- ✓Daily attendance—on time, ready to learn
- ✓Full participation in academics, arts, and community
- ✓Read and respond to school communications
- ✓Attend family conferences and school events
- ✓Submit required documentation by deadlines
- ✓Partner with us to support your child's growth
Why This Model?
The homeschool partnership is a legal structure that allows MMM to operate as a tuition-free, community-funded school. It is not a signal that attendance is optional, that curriculum is informal, or that families are responsible for instruction at home.
Your child's education happens at school, with our teachers, following our curriculum. The only difference from a traditional public school is who signs the paperwork—and we guide you through every step of that process.
Our Curriculum
Miss Major Middle's curriculum is built on a foundational belief: middle schoolers learn deeply when creativity, connection, and academic rigor work together.
Integrated Humanities & STEM
Traditional Humanities and STEM classes remain central—and they tie directly into our arts work.
- • Physics through lighting and sound design
- • Financial literacy through production budgeting
- • Literature and history through character analysis
- • Scientific inquiry through design projects
Advisory in Creative Classes
Our genderful advisory model is woven into the daily rhythm of theater, movement, and arts classes.
When collaboration sparks strong feelings—excitement, frustration, vulnerability, or conflict—teachers pause to reflect, name emotions, repair harm, practice communication, and acknowledge growth.
Preparing for NYC High School
MMM is committed to preparing students for the wide range of NYC high school options, including district schools, arts-based programs, screened programs, and specialized schools.
- • Portfolio development for arts-based high schools
- • Guidance for auditions and interviews
- • Support for specialized high school preparation
- • Family workshops on applications
- • Hands-on support with deadlines and logistics
Why We Exist
Brooklyn is home to extraordinary diversity, creativity, and community power. Families here are artists, educators, public servants, organizers, caregivers, thinkers, and dreamers.
And yet, LGBTQ+ young people continue to face rising legislative attacks, hostile school climates, increased bullying, limited access to identity-affirming curriculum, and fractured experiences of belonging during a critical developmental period.
National research shows that LGBTQ+ youth who have one supportive adult in their lives are 40% less likely to attempt suicide. We need middle schools where students do more than just survive.
“We have a purpose. We're entitled to be loved, and seek happiness, and share that with the people that we care about.”
What Families Told Us
Over the past three years, listening sessions, surveys, and direct conversations with NYC families revealed clear themes:
Safer, Smaller Schools
Families want safer, smaller, more affirming middle school environments where children aren't anonymous.
Dignity & Care
Caregivers want school models grounded in dignity, consent, communication, and love.
Accessibility
Families want a school that is accessible—economically, geographically, and emotionally.
Community Partnership
Families want a school that brings caregivers into the fabric of the school, not as bystanders but as partners.
Identity Support
Families want educators who understand gender development, listen deeply, and have the language to support evolving identities.