I.S. 347 School of Humanities

Students at I.S. 347 test roughly 20 points behind the district in both ELA (25.4% vs. 45.9%) and math (28.9% vs. 43.2%), placing the school well below average. The good news is the trajectory: ELA proficiency has nearly doubled since 2017 (14.7% to 25.4%), and 8th graders post noticeably stronger math results (37.9%) than their younger peers. Math scores have been volatile — including a crash to 5.5% in 2022 before recovering — but the multi-year arc points upward rather than down.

The day-to-day feel here is unusually warm: zero suspensions in 2023-24, down from 6–7 the prior two years, suggesting a restorative approach that has clearly taken root. Parents give the school remarkably high marks for trust in teachers (99%) and the principal (95%), even though overall satisfaction (87%) trails the district average of 93%. Teacher-rated instruction quality (88%) is actually above the district norm. The elephant in the room is chronic absenteeism at 62.7% — well above what most families would expect — with boys missing school at notably higher rates (68.5%) than girls (56.1%).

I.S. 347's student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (93%), with small Black, Asian, and White populations — far less racially mixed than most Brooklyn middle schools. The economic need index of 82.8 signals a population where most students come from low-income households, and 21% have IEPs. The school draws from a neighborhood where the median household income is around $87,000 and about one in five residents lives below the poverty line — a working-class, largely renter community that the school's demographics mirror closely.

Bushwick around this school is a working-class, heavily renter neighborhood where homeownership sits near 11% and just over one in ten households includes children. Median incomes hover around $87,000 with a 20% poverty rate, and nearly half of adults hold a bachelor's degree — a community that's both economically stretched and increasingly educated. It's a neighborhood in transition, with rising home values and a mix of long-time residents and newer arrivals.

Families can reach the school via the M at Central Av (about a 5-minute walk), the L at Morgan Av (about 10 minutes), or the J at Kosciuszko St (about 11 minutes) — solid subway coverage for getting kids to and from school.