Brooklyn Charter School

Brooklyn Charter's 2025 scores — 70.7% ELA and 63.6% math — place it above the District 14 averages (62.4% and 59.5% respectively). The school's overall quality score of 2.69 also beats the district average of 2.44. But the story is in the trajectory: scores cratered in 2022 (ELA dropped to 25%, math to 20%) then rebounded dramatically year over year, with 2025 ELA more than doubling from the 2022 low. Third graders are performing at an exceptionally high level (88% math, 75% ELA), suggesting strong early literacy and numeracy instruction — a critical foundation.

The survey data tells a remarkable story of institutional trust: 100% of responding parents say they're satisfied, 97% trust teachers, and 98% trust the principal. Teachers are equally bullish — 100% trust the principal, 98% report high instructional quality, and 98% feel safe at work. This is an unusually high trust environment. However, the attendance picture is troubling. At 89.3%, daily attendance barely nudges above the district average, but chronic absenteeism sits at a striking 54.9% — meaning more than half of students are missing significant school time. The gender gap is notable: 58% of females versus 51.5% of males are chronically absent. This disconnect — between strong trust/satisfaction and weak attendance — suggests families may be pulling kids for non-academic reasons (illness, housing instability, family obligations) despite feeling positive about the school.

With just 175 students across grades K-5, this is a small school with a tight-knit feel. The student body is 77% Black and 18% Hispanic, reflecting the neighborhood's demographics. The economic need index of 86.9% is notably high — nearly 9 in 10 students qualify for free or reduced lunch. About 21% of students have IEPs, indicating substantial special education support. The diversity index of 40% is moderate, with the population concentrated in two major ethnic groups.

Bedford-Stuyvesant is a transit-rich, family-dense neighborhood in central Brooklyn — families here have easy access to the subway and bus lines (scoring 86.21 on transit). The area scores highly on education orientation (71.26), meaning lots of families with school-age children. The tradeoffs are real: safety scores are low (21.84) and neighborhood stability is very low (3.83), reflecting the challenges of this historically working-class community undergoing rapid change. Median home values are over $1.2 million, but poverty still affects 28% of households.

The neighborhood is walkable with good transit options — families can easily reach the school via multiple bus routes and the subway is nearby