At a Glance
A small, progressive Fort Greene elementary where social justice and sliding-scale tuition define the community
Best suited for
Families who want a small, progressive, values-driven elementary with genuine racial and economic diversity — and who are prepared to engage with the sliding-scale admissions process and plan ahead for a fifth-grade transition.
What stands out
- Sliding-scale tuition ranging from $6,802 to $54,557 — the school has built its economic model around access, not exclusivity, and that range is unusually wide for a private elementary.
- An explicit anti-racist, social-justice framework woven into curriculum and community life, not just a sentence in the mission statement.
- An 8.6:1 student-teacher ratio at just 123 students — a notably intimate elementary experience where teachers genuinely know every child.
- Real demographic diversity (0.7979 index) actively maintained through the sliding-scale admissions process rather than left to who happens to apply.
- A PK–5 constructivist program that treats visual arts, drama, music, movement, and technology as core curriculum rather than as add-ons.
Things to consider
- Greene Hill ends at fifth grade — there is no middle school, so families must navigate a second private-school admissions process at age 11 or plan a public-school transition.
- Top-of-scale tuition approaches $55K, which is meaningful even within a sliding-scale model — applying requires real financial transparency and the lower end isn't guaranteed.
- The school is genuinely selective: progressive, social-justice-oriented families apply in large numbers, and the December 1 deadline means an earlier timeline than many peer schools.
- Transit access is a real constraint — the nearest subways are 14–15 minutes on foot, which rules out an easy subway commute for working parents doing drop-off or pickup.
- At 123 students, specialist breadth and elective variety are narrower than at larger private or well-resourced public elementary programs.
Identity
Greene Hill is a coeducational, nonsectarian elementary school serving PK through 5th grade, founded on progressive, constructivist principles with an explicit commitment to anti-racism and social justice. The whole-child approach weaves academics with arts, movement, social-emotional learning, and identity exploration rather than treating those as extras. With roughly 123 students and an 8.6:1 ratio, the school is intentionally small — closer in feel to a learning community than a traditional elementary.
Community
At 123 students, Greene Hill reads like a deliberate cross-section of Brooklyn: 46.3% White, 30.9% multiracial, 10.6% Black, 8.9% Hispanic, and 3.3% Asian, with a diversity index of 0.7979. The sliding-scale tuition is the school's mechanism for translating that ideal into reality — it's how a Fort Greene progressive school maintains a racially and economically mixed student body rather than just a philosophically progressive one. Reviews consistently highlight a strong sense of belonging and a community that takes its diversity commitments seriously rather than performatively.
Neighborhood
Fort Greene is a settled, family-heavy slice of central Brooklyn where most adults hold a bachelor's degree and median household income sits well above the city average — context that shapes both the applicant pool and the cultural life around the school, from brownstone playgrounds to nearby arts institutions. The neighborhood skews educated and civically engaged, which is part of why a values-driven progressive school fits here in the first place. That said, Greene Hill is not a drop-out-of-the-subway school: getting there on transit means a real walk regardless of which line you take.
The nearest subway options are the G at Fulton Street (about a 14-minute walk), the G at Clinton-Washington Avenues (about a 14-minute walk), and the C at Lafayette Avenue (about a 15-minute walk), so plan on a stroller-or-bike commute rather than a quick station hop.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Highly positive reviews praising small class sizes, progressive curriculum, diverse community, sliding scale tuition making it accessible, caring teachers, strong sense of belonging, whole-child education approach; 4.5+ rating across multiple review platforms
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is GREENE HILL SCHOOL a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for GREENE HILL SCHOOL yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Fort Greene.
- What grades does GREENE HILL SCHOOL serve?
- GREENE HILL SCHOOL serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into GREENE HILL SCHOOL?
- GREENE HILL SCHOOL runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is GREENE HILL SCHOOL public, charter, or private?
- GREENE HILL SCHOOL is a private school.
- What neighborhood is GREENE HILL SCHOOL in?
- GREENE HILL SCHOOL is in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.