 Lucas Kavner of The Huffington Post wrote in 2012 that the school serves as a model for independent , democratic schools at the forefront of renewed interest in the 1960s / 70s free school movement . He added that critics contend that the school 's environment does not prepare students for real life , and that students from families that cannot hire tutors will suffer disproportionately . The school inspired the Manhattan Free School ( founded in 2008 ) , and , in turn , was inspired by the Albany Free School ( founded in 1969 ) . Kavner called the Brooklyn Free School " arguably New York 's most radical center of learning " . 
