M.S. 51 William Alexander

ELA proficiency at 69.5% sits above the District 15 average of 65.5%, and math at 64.3% is essentially on par with the district average of 63.3%. The trajectory tells a bigger story: from 2016 to 2019, the school routinely posted ELA and math proficiency in the high 70s to low 80s, then fell sharply in 2022 to 65.8% ELA and 60% math — a pandemic-era drop. ELA kept slipping through 2024 before rebounding to 69.5% in 2025; math has hovered in the mid-60s since 2022. The school is recovering, but it hasn't returned to its pre-pandemic peak.

Daily attendance is healthy at 94.2% — above the district average of 93.5% — but chronic absenteeism sits at a striking 83.6%, meaning the vast majority of students miss more than 10% of the school year. Parent trust in the principal is exceptionally high (97%), and parent-teacher trust is solid at 91%, though overall parent satisfaction (89%) runs below the district average of 93%. Teacher-side numbers are softer: instruction quality is rated at 87% (just below the district's 89%) and trust between teachers and the principal is a low 67%. Discipline has trended sharply in the right direction — total suspensions fell from 18 in 2021-22 to just 5 last year.

The student body is genuinely diverse — 36% Hispanic, 27% White, 23% Asian, 10% Black, and 4% multiracial — against a Park Slope neighborhood that is wealthier and more White than the city as a whole. Twenty-two percent of students have IEPs, and the school's economic need index of 55.7 indicates a meaningful share of students from lower-income households, which is striking given the surrounding neighborhood's median household income over $190,000 and a poverty rate under 5%. The school's diversity index of 80% reflects a student body drawn from well beyond the immediate Park Slope blocks.

Park Slope is one of Brooklyn's most family-dense neighborhoods, with about a quarter of households including children and more than four out of five adults holding a bachelor's degree. Homeownership sits around 43%, and the median home value exceeds $1.6 million, putting this among the most expensive residential markets in the city. The school sits in the heart of that mix, with public-housing and market-rate blocks feeding into the same building.

The R train at 4 Av-9 St is about a five-minute walk, the F and G trains at the same station about six minutes, and the R at Union St roughly eight minutes on foot.