Brownsville Ascend Charter School

Both ELA (60.7%) and math (56.5%) proficiency land clearly above the district averages of roughly 52% and 51%, and the school's overall rating of 2.34/4 outpaces District 23's 2.06 average. The trajectory is bumpy but recently upward: scores climbed sharply from 2016 through 2019, dipped during the post-pandemic years of 2022-2024, and rebounded in 2025 to the highest ELA mark in nearly a decade. The third grade is the school's clear academic engine, with 71% of students hitting ELA proficiency and 78% hitting math — both far above district norms — while fourth grade is the weakest spot, with ELA slipping to 51% and math to 56%.

Attendance as a raw rate is solid at 92.5%, well above the district average of 88.6%, but the chronic absenteeism figure of 73.1% reveals that most students are still missing significant chunks of school — a pattern that runs across both boys and girls and especially affects Black students (75.2%). Parent satisfaction (74%) and teacher-reported instruction quality (69%) both sit well below district averages of 93% and 89% respectively, suggesting that families and staff don't feel the school is hitting the mark on the daily experience even if the test scores are. With only one family responding to the survey, those numbers should be read as a weak signal rather than a definitive verdict.

The student body is 83% Black and 13% Hispanic, with very small representation from other groups, giving the school a diversity index of just 34%. The surrounding Brownsville neighborhood reflects a similar demographic profile, with high economic need (an ENI of 85.6, meaning most students come from low-income households) and a local poverty rate of nearly 38%. With 925 students enrolled across K-8, this is a sizeable campus, and 17% of students have IEPs — a meaningful portion of the population that any prospective family should factor in.

Brownsville is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, with a median household income around $33,500 and a homeownership rate of just 14%, meaning most families in the area rent. Only about 8% of neighborhood homes have children under 18, and just 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, so the families sending kids to this school are navigating real financial pressure. The school sits a fair walk from the nearest subway, and getting there means planning around the commute.

Most families will take the 3 train, with Sutter Av-Rutland Rd about an 8-minute walk and Saratoga Av about 11 minutes; the C train at Ralph Av is a longer 15-minute walk.