Compass Charter School

Compass has gone from a 29.5% ELA proficiency rate in 2017 to 78.6% in 2025 — one of the steeper improvement curves you'll find in Brooklyn. Math tells a similar story, rising from 11.6% to 74.3% over the same window. Both subjects now run roughly 25 percentage points above District 13 averages (53.1% ELA, 45.9% math). Scores are fairly consistent across grades 3 through 5, with fifth-graders posting the strongest results (80% ELA, 79.2% math). The overall school quality score of 3.06 out of 4 also sits well above the district average of 1.98.

This is a high-trust community in most respects. Parents give the school a 94% satisfaction rating, parent-teacher trust is at 97%, and 100% of surveyed families say the school fosters strong relationships. Teachers rate instruction quality at 95% and feel safe at 96% — both above district averages. The one sour note: teacher-principal trust sits at 79%, noticeably lower than the other climate metrics, suggesting some friction between staff and leadership. Daily attendance is strong at 96.7%, well above the district's 89.2% — but 91.3% of students are flagged as chronically absent (missing 10%+ of the school year), a figure that warrants a closer look from any prospective family. The chronic absenteeism rate hits 100% for Hispanic and multiracial students, while Black students fare best at 69.2%.

Compass draws a student body that's 47% white, 24% Black, 13% Hispanic, 11% Asian, and 5% multiracial — a diversity index of 75%. The economic need index of 34.2 indicates a relatively affluent population compared to most District 13 schools. Twenty-one percent of students have IEPs, which is fairly typical for the area. The neighborhood around the school, by contrast, is overwhelmingly adult — only 13.3% of Fort Greene households have children, so many families likely commute in from elsewhere.

Fort Greene is a well-educated, relatively affluent Brooklyn neighborhood with a median household income around $113,000 and a 58.9% rate of bachelor's-or-higher attainment. Only about 13.3% of households here have children under 18, which helps explain why many Compass families likely travel in from other parts of Brooklyn. Homeownership is low at 21.2%, and the median home value tops $1.1 million, reflecting the area's desirability.

Three subway stations are within roughly a five-minute walk: the C train at Lafayette Avenue, and the G train at both Fulton Street and Clinton-Washington Avenues. The G access is especially useful for families coming from other parts of Brooklyn.