FDNY - Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety

Standardized proficiency data isn't reported for this school, so the academic picture has to be read through other signals: AP courses are on the menu alongside ELL support and world languages (French and Spanish), and the program richness score is a perfect 100 out of 100. With 40% of students classified as IEP and a high economic need index, this is a school that has to teach a wide range of learners under one roof. The AP and ELL offerings suggest academic reach is real, even if the test-score story is missing.

The trust numbers here are unusually strong: 100% of surveyed parents say they trust the principal, 100% trust the teachers, and 94% rate instruction as high quality — all well above district averages in the high 80s. There were zero suspensions reported, which is striking for any school and especially notable in a building serving this many students with high needs. The lower survey response rate (23% of families, 25 teachers) means these are the voices of people who showed up to be heard, but the consistency across every category is hard to fake. Day to day, this reads as a school where adults and families are aligned and the discipline file is essentially empty.

The student body is overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic (61% and 32% respectively), which closely tracks the surrounding East New York neighborhood, where roughly a quarter of households live below the poverty line and median income hovers in the high $50,000s. About 40% of students have IEPs, far higher than a typical NYC high school, and the economic need index of 81.3 signals a student body dealing with real financial pressure. This is a school whose community looks like the blocks around it — not a magnet drawing kids in from wealthier zip codes.

East New York (North) is a dense, working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where most households rent (only 30% own their homes), about one in four families live in poverty, and roughly 17% of households include children. The median home value near $617,000 reflects rising prices in eastern Brooklyn even as incomes stay modest, and only about 16% of adults here hold a bachelor's degree. It's the kind of place where schools serve as anchors, and where a small, themed high school with FDNY ties can feel like a real opportunity for local families.

The school is well-served by subway — Pennsylvania Av (3) is roughly a 4-minute walk, with Van Siclen Av (3) and Livonia Av (L) each about 7 minutes on foot.