J.H.S. 014 Shell Bank

On the most recent state tests, 38.6% of students met ELA proficiency and 49.9% met math proficiency, both meaningfully below the District 22 averages of about 61% in each subject. Science proficiency is lower at 28.4%. But the multi-year trend tells a different story: math proficiency has gone from 22.5% in 2016 to 49.9% in 2025, and ELA has nearly doubled from 20% to 38.6%. Seventh graders post the strongest math performance at 59.6%, close to the district average, while sixth and eighth graders trail further behind. The school is closing gaps, not leading — but the trajectory is one of the more consistent upward curves in the district.

The day-to-day culture here looks healthier than the test scores suggest. Teachers rate instructional quality at 96% (well above the district's 89.8%) and trust in the principal at 97%, which is the kind of internal cohesion that often precedes further academic gains. Parent satisfaction (92%) and parent trust in both teachers (93%) and the principal (95%) are strong. The chronic absenteeism rate, however, is high at 51.4% — more than half of students miss enough school to be flagged — and overall attendance of 88.4% trails the district's 91.4%. The suspension rate of about 2% is roughly four times the district average, and suspensions have bounced between 5 and 10 over the past three years rather than trending in a clear direction. Parents should ask specifically about attendance supports and how behavioral incidents are handled.

The student body mirrors the diversity of southern Brooklyn: about 37% Black, 26% White, 21% Hispanic, and 15% Asian, with a diversity index of 77%. The economic need index of 85.7% signals that most students come from households facing financial pressure, and 32% of students have IEPs — a notably high share that the school appears to support through a wide range of programs. Family survey response rate is a healthy 30%, suggesting engaged parents despite limited PTA fundraising ($7 per student versus a district average of $56).

Shell Bank sits in the Sheepshead Bay-Manhattan Beach-Gerritsen Beach area of southern Brooklyn, where median household income is around $79,500, the poverty rate is 13%, and just over half of households own their homes. About 18% of neighborhood households have children, and 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The median home value is over $720,000, reflecting a stable, predominantly middle-class residential pocket.

Subway access is limited — families walk about 19 minutes to the Neck Road Q train or about 20 minutes to the Sheepshead Bay station on the B and Q lines. Many families likely rely on school buses or cars.