 The school is funded through tuition , grants , and donations . The majority of students come from middle @-@ class families from Brooklyn . The private school has sliding @-@ scale tuition , and less than half pay full tuition . Founding director Alan Berger said that 20 percent paid full tuition in 2012 . In 2015 , about a third paid less than $ 500 in tuition , and another third paid half tuition . The sliding scale 's full tuition is set at $ 22 @,@ 000 . 
