Community Roots Charter School

Test scores here are a different universe from the district average. ELA proficiency at 80.7% is more than 27 points above the CSD 13 average of about 53%, and math at 75.6% runs nearly 30 points above the district's 45.9%. The overall quality score of 3.13 out of 4 sits well above the district's 1.98. The growth story is the more striking part: in 2016, ELA proficiency was 49.6% and math was 44.6%, so the school has added roughly 30 points in ELA and 30 points in math over nine years. Scores by grade are strong across the board, though Grade 6 stands out as the softest spot — 70.6% in ELA and 60.9% in math — likely a transitional year as students adjust to middle school before rebounding in Grades 7 and 8.

This is a school where the adults clearly like working together. Teacher collegial trust is 94%, teacher-principal trust is 95%, and 96% of teachers rate instruction quality positively — all comfortably above the district averages of around 88-91%. Parents report similarly strong feelings: 96% satisfied, with 98% trust in both teachers and the principal, and a 61% family survey response rate that signals real engagement rather than a small self-selecting chorus. Teacher-reported safety is 95%, just a hair below the district average of 96.1%. Attendance is solid at 95.9% versus a district average near 89%, and the chronic absenteeism rate (roughly 9% by the inverse of the subgroup data) is notably low. There are some gaps within subgroups worth watching — Black and Hispanic students show meaningfully lower attendance rates than White and Multiracial peers — but the overall climate numbers are uniformly strong.

The student body is fairly large for a charter at 472, with an average class size of 21.2 that matches the district average. Demographically, 45% of students are White, 23% Black, 15% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, and 7% Asian, giving a diversity index of 79% — meaningfully more diverse than the school would be if it simply mirrored its immediate neighborhood. The economic need index of 33.3% is moderate, and 25% of students have IEPs, a higher share than many schools. Family response rates to the survey are high, and the trust numbers suggest a community that is plugged in and invested.

Fort Greene is one of Brooklyn's more affluent and educated neighborhoods. Median household income runs around $112,864, and 58.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — both well above city norms. The poverty rate sits at 17.3%, and just 13.3% of households include children, which tracks with the area's reputation for being popular with adult professionals and older residents. Housing is a real barrier: only 21.2% of households own, and the median home value tops $1.1 million, meaning families who want to live near the school often have to make financial tradeoffs.

Families can reach the school via the DeKalb Av station on the B, Q, and R lines (about an 8-minute walk), Nevins St on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 (about 11 minutes), or Fulton St on the G (about 12 minutes). Several lines converge within reasonable walking distance.