BART Charter Public School

Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School (“BART”) is a nationally recognized, award-winning, college-preparatory, public middle and high school located in Adams, Massachusetts. As the only charter school in Berkshire County, it is consistently ranked among the top schools in Massachusetts for student academic achievement and growth. Committed to its mission to prepare its students for college and a lifetime of learning, BART is a community of 363 curious and creative students, devoted and innovative teachers and staff members, and families dedicated to the success of their children. The student body is richly diverse, each member with an important personal story. The School is built around a makerspace, and its academic program comprises an intense academic core curriculum enriched by ample elective courses in the arts and technology as well as opportunities for students to pursue independent creative and scholarly projects. Before they graduate, BART students must pass courses on college campuses, take and pass collegiate-skills courses each year, complete an internship within the region, and participate in a rigorous program of mock interviews, portfolio presentations, and annual science fairs. The success enjoyed by BART’s students and the School as a whole results from a school culture characterized by the pursuit of excellence and based on a set of foundational elements: A liberating, college-preparatory, academic environment that provides for students and employees alike intellectual challenge, professional development and exploration, and personal growth; Dedication to the education of the whole child that supports the child’s intellectual, emotional, social, and physical maturation; A school that embodies the best of contemporary educational knowledge, thought, and practices, including a reliance on data-driven teaching and learning in support of advancing student achievement; A vibrant, inclusive school that embraces diversity and individuality yet shines by the devotion of students, faculty and staff, and families to their BART and home communities; An educational experience that brings the world into BART and BART into the world; and A strong, resilient, and multi-element financial base from which resources enable students’ academic success and professional distinction and employees’ professional development and refinement.