At a Glance
A small alternative-pathway high school giving Brownsville students a second shot at graduation
Best suited for
Older students who have fallen behind on credits at a traditional high school, need a smaller and more forgiving environment, and want a realistic path to a Regents diploma — and families who understand that "second-chance" is the point, not a downside.
What stands out
- Zero suspensions reported — a remarkable figure for any high school, especially one serving students who've struggled elsewhere.
- Tiny enrollment of 176 means every student is known by name; average class size of 22 keeps things intimate.
- High IEP rate (32%) and high economic need (85%) paired with strong teacher-to-principal trust (90%) suggest staff are bought in to serving a challenging population.
- A genuine alternative-pathway model — designed for students who need credit recovery, not a traditional comprehensive high school.
Things to consider
- No Regents proficiency scores are reported — families used to comparing proficiency numbers will find nothing here, which reflects the school's transfer-and-recovery mission rather than a data gap.
- Survey response rates are very low (12% of families, 10 teachers), so the climate numbers describe a small slice of the community, not a full picture.
- The surrounding Brownsville census numbers — high poverty, low household income, few families with children — are real context for the daily environment.
- District 17's peer schools include top-scoring Success Academy charters; Aspirations operates in a completely different lane and should not be compared to them.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 17
District 17 in central Brooklyn includes several high-scoring charter schools (Success Academy Prospect Heights at 98/100, Crown Heights at 96/100) alongside traditional zoned schools. Aspirations occupies a distinct and necessary niche — it's not competing with those schools but rather catching students they've missed.
Academics
No Regents proficiency data is available for this school, which is typical of Diploma Plus transfer high schools — these serve students who are behind on credits and may have already missed multiple Regents windows. The district average is roughly 60% ELA proficiency and 57% math, but Aspirations' students aren't being measured against that benchmark in the same way. Academic outcome is better understood through graduation and credit recovery, which the Diploma Plus model is built around.
Culture
The most striking number here is zero suspensions — rare for any school and unheard of at this grade level. Teachers rate their own instruction quality at 90% (matching the district average of 89%) and trust their principal at 90%, suggesting a coherent staff culture. Parent satisfaction runs 79% — solid but well below the district's 91% — and parent trust in teachers (82%) and the principal (84%) is healthy. Caveat: the family survey response rate was only 12% (14 responses) and the teacher survey just 10 responses, so these numbers describe a very small sample of voices.
Community
The student body is 79% Black, 15% Hispanic, with small numbers of Asian, Native American, and White students — a profile that mirrors Brownsville itself, one of the most heavily Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The economic need index of 85% means most students come from low-income households, and 32% have IEPs, well above the citywide norm. This is a school built for the neighborhood it sits in.
Neighborhood
Brownsville is a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where the median household income sits around $33,500, more than a third of residents live below the poverty line, and just 7.9% of households include children under 18 — a low share that reflects both the area's demographics and the outmigration of families. Homeownership is rare (14%) and the BA-or-higher rate is 13%, so most residents rent and many adults did not finish college. The 3 train runs through the heart of the neighborhood, making this part of Brooklyn reasonably connected to the rest of the city.
The 3 train at Sutter Av–Rutland Rd is a 3-minute walk, with the Saratoga Av (3) and Crown Hts–Utica Av (3, 4) stops each about 11 minutes away.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 14 families responded (12% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. We don't have Aspirations Diploma Plus High School's program list, so read how each of its programs admits on MySchools before you rank it.
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Aspirations Diploma Plus High School a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for Aspirations Diploma Plus High School yet on Motley. It's a public school serving grades 9 to 12 in Brownsville.
- What grades does Aspirations Diploma Plus High School serve?
- Aspirations Diploma Plus High School serves grades 9 to 12.
- Is Aspirations Diploma Plus High School public, charter, or private?
- Aspirations Diploma Plus High School is a public school in NYC Community School District 17.
- What neighborhood is Aspirations Diploma Plus High School in?
- Aspirations Diploma Plus High School is in Brownsville, Brooklyn.