M.S. 035 Stephen Decatur

ELA proficiency of 69.6% runs well above the District 16 average of 57.6%, and math at 57% lands roughly at the district average of 57%. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot — ELA has roughly tripled over the past decade and math climbed from a low of 15.3% in 2017 to a recent peak of 67.3%, though it pulled back to 57% in 2025, a one-year dip worth watching. 8th-grade ELA at 84.2% is a real standout, while grade-by-grade math swings between 49% in 6th and 71% in 7th, suggesting uneven pacing across cohorts.

Parent satisfaction is at 98%, with parent-teacher and parent-principal trust both at 99% — families feel heard here in a way most schools envy. Discipline is minimal, with only two suspensions across the whole school in 2023-24, down from seven the year prior. The harder parts: chronic absenteeism runs at 66.5%, which is high even by city standards, and teacher-reported instruction quality is 81%, below the district average of 86% — meaning the day-to-day classroom experience may not feel as polished as the family survey suggests.

About 169 students attend, the vast majority Black (83%) with a smaller Hispanic share (12%) and a thin slice of White, Asian, and multiracial students. The student body mirrors East Bed-Stuy's deep Black community roots but reads even more concentrated than the surrounding neighborhood, which carries broader income and household diversity than these classrooms reflect. An economic need index of 87% and 33% of students with IEPs mean most families here are navigating real financial and developmental pressures.

Bedford-Stuyvesant (East) is a historically Black Brooklyn neighborhood where median household income runs about $70,755 and roughly a quarter of households live below the poverty line. About 12% of households have children under 18 and over 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, painting a working-class, civically engaged community. Homeownership at 27% with a median home value north of $1.1 million reflects the brownstone legacy alongside more recent price pressure.

Three subway options are within reach — the C at Kingston-Throop Avs (about a 6-minute walk), the A and C at Utica Av (about 7 minutes), and the 3 and 4 at Crown Hts-Utica Av (about 18 minutes) — making this one of the easier East Bed-Stuy middle schools to reach by transit.