I.S. 096 Seth Low

Proficiency rates of 47.6% in ELA and 48.8% in math sit clearly below the District 21 averages of 60% and 63%, so on a single-year snapshot this school is behind its peers. But the trend line is the more interesting story: ELA proficiency has nearly doubled since 2016 (from 27.7% to 47.6%), and math has climbed from 29.4% to 48.8% with year-over-year gains in five of the last six reported years. Grade 7 is the strongest cohort at 64% math proficiency; grade 8 math at 36% is the school's soft spot and worth asking about.

The day-to-day feel here is mixed. Parents are unusually happy: 94% parent satisfaction and 97% trust in both teachers and principal — well above district averages and a sign families feel heard. Teachers rate instruction quality at 94% and trust in colleagues at 82%, though only 88% trust the principal, a softer number than the family side. The concern is chronic absenteeism at 71.6% — very high, meaning roughly seven in ten students miss enough school to count as chronically absent — and a suspension rate of 2% (compared to 0.5% districtwide), stable but double the average.

About 788 students attend Seth Low, with a student body that's about 36% Hispanic, 28% Asian, 28% White, and 7% Black — one of the more balanced profiles in the area. An economic need index of 82.5 signals a majority of families near or below the poverty line, while 25% of students have IEPs, a notably high share. Bensonhurst itself skews Asian and Hispanic with a 17.4% poverty rate and a median home value over $1 million, so the school serves a population that looks more working-class than the surrounding housing market would suggest.

Bensonhurst is a dense, immigrant-rooted stretch of southern Brooklyn where most households are renters (only about 32% own) and family households with kids are relatively common at roughly 21%. The neighborhood skews working- and middle-class, with a median household income around $65,000 and about 31% of adults holding a bachelor's degree. The streets are busy, the apartment blocks are tall, and the sidewalks stay full — this is a real neighborhood, not a commuter stop.

The school is about a 7-minute walk from Bay Pkwy (N), an 8-minute walk from Kings Hwy (N), and a 13-minute walk from 20 Av (N) — three N-train stops cover the commute.