East New York Elementary School of Excellence

Test scores here have telling story: pre-pandemic, the school hovered in the low-to-mid 20s for ELA and math, then dropped to 15% in 2022 during the pandemic's peak, and has now climbed to 35.9% ELA and 37.6% math in 2025. That's real growth — roughly 20 percentage points in three years — but the school remains below the district average of roughly 49% in both subjects. The gap is widest in upper grades: third-graders are performing at 51% ELA (actually above district average), while fifth-graders are at 23.5%. This suggests the school is getting stronger at the early grades but still has ground to make up with older students.

The survey data tells a remarkably positive story. Teachers give 100% on safety and collegial trust, 97% on instruction quality. Parents report 98% trust in teachers and the principal, and 94% satisfaction — all above district averages. This is a school where relationships are working. The attendance picture is more complicated: at 90.2% it's slightly above district average, but chronic absenteeism is a stubborn 60.2% — meaning most students are missing significant school time. On discipline, the school has had zero suspensions for two of the past three years, a stark contrast to the 1.6% district average.

With 425 students, this is a mid-sized elementary school. The demographics closely mirror the neighborhood: 43% Black, 45% Hispanic, 8% Asian. Nearly half the student body (45%) is Hispanic, reflecting the neighborhood's growing Latino population. The diversity index of 61% is moderate. Seventeen percent of students have IEPs, slightly above what might be expected, suggesting the school serves a meaningful population with special needs.

East New York (North) is a transit-rich but safety-conscious community in central Brooklyn. The neighborhood scores well on transit (70.88) and family density (67.82), meaning it's convenient for commuters and has other families around. But safety scores are low at 24.9, and the education orientation is just 30.27 — this isn't a neighborhood where most adults have college degrees. The economic context shapes everything: median household income is $57,841, poverty rate is 25.1%, and only 30% of residents own homes. Families here are navigating the same financial pressures that show up in the school's 90% economic need index.

The neighborhood is walkable with decent transit options, though parents in this area often rely on buses or cars given the safety concerns that keep some families close to home in evenings.