Explore Charter School

Explore Charter School has made extraordinary academic gains over the past nine years — ELA proficiency climbed from 28.7% in 2016 to 63.7% in 2025, while math surged from 30.5% to 67.9% over the same period. Both scores now exceed District 17 averages (60.5% ELA, 57.3% math), placing this school in a small group of outperformers. The grade-level data reveals particular strength in upper elementary: Grade 5 students hit 79.5% in ELA, Grade 4 math reached 82.3%, and Grade 8 ELA hit 72.9%. These aren't just test gains — they're consistent across multiple grades, suggesting sustainable instructional improvement rather than a one-year wonder. The overall score of 2.63/4 also beats the district average of 2.36.

The survey data tells a nuanced story. Parents are highly satisfied (95%) and trust both teachers (96%) and the principal (94%) — these numbers are well above district averages and suggest strong family-school relationships. Teachers report solid collegial trust (85%) and decent trust in leadership (87%). However, teacher-reported safety (86%) falls notably below both the district average (94.7%) and what you'd hope for in a K-8 building. The 94.2% attendance rate beats the district, but chronic absenteeism at 83% is extraordinarily high — this suggests a disconnect between showing up and staying engaged, possibly tied to the school climate issues teachers are flagging. Families respond to surveys (24% response rate), but only 26 teachers completed the climate survey, making that data less reliable.

Explore Charter School serves a predominantly Black student body (75%), with 19% Hispanic students — reflecting the demographics of the broader Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate neighborhood. The school has very low Asian (1%) and White (2%) enrollment, making it one of the less diverse schools in the area by traditional metrics, though the diversity index of 41% captures some of the within-school variation. With 76.6% economic need index and 13% IEP students, this is a school serving families with significant resource constraints. The enrollment of 548 across K-8 creates a relatively small community where class sizes average 22 students — essentially matching the district average.

Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate is a transit-friendly Brooklyn neighborhood with strong education orientation (81.61 percentile) and family density (75.48 percentile), but significant safety concerns (18.77 percentile). The median home value of $949,275 reflects the area's popularity with families despite moderate household incomes ($73,345). Families in this area tend to be renters (22.5% homeownership) with high education levels (41.8% BA+). The neighborhood's asthma rates and collision rates suggest environmental health considerations, though the high transit score (81.23) makes car-free family life feasible.

The neighborhood's high transit score and family density make walking or public transit practical for most families; however, the low safety score suggests parents may prefer walking their children to school rather than letting older kids walk alone