M.S. K266 - Park Place Community Middle School

ELA proficiency of 36.8% and math proficiency of 30.9% both sit well below the district averages of 53% and 46%. But the multi-year trend is genuinely strong — ELA has more than doubled since 2016 (from 16.4%) and math has roughly tripled (from 11%), with a notable peak in 2024. The dip from that 2024 peak is worth watching, but the longer arc is clearly upward. The grade-level breakdown is the most striking finding: 6th graders post 20.7% ELA and 10.3% math, while 8th graders hit 52.9% and 58.8% — students appear to grow substantially during their three years here.

Parent satisfaction at 83% is solid if slightly below the district average of 91%, and parent trust in teachers (94%) and the principal (89%) is high — families feel heard. Day-to-day discipline is light: just 2 suspensions in 2023-24, down from 7 two years earlier, and the suspension rate of 2% sits only marginally above the district norm. Two cautionary signals are the 53.4% chronic absenteeism rate and the teacher-side survey numbers — only 7 teachers responded, so the 4% teacher-principal trust and 67% instruction-quality rating should be read with wide margins of error rather than taken at full face value.

The student body is 51% Black, 39% Hispanic, and 10% White — meaningfully more diverse than Park Slope's overall population and notably different from the wealthier, more white demographic profile of the census tract around it. The economic need index of 79% is high, and 39% of students have IEPs — a substantial special education population that shapes the school's daily life. ELL support is offered, and there's an Accelerated/Honors academic track alongside it, giving the school a real spread of learner profiles under one roof.

Park Slope is one of Brooklyn's most affluent and family-oriented neighborhoods, with a high share of college-educated adults and roughly a quarter of households raising children. The school draws a student population that does not mirror its immediate surroundings — a common and important pattern in screened urban schools — but the neighborhood itself offers the libraries, parks, and stroller-friendly sidewalks that middle-school families tend to value. The setting is residential and well-served by transit, sitting within easy reach of three subway lines.

Families can reach the school via Bergen St on the 2 and 3 lines (about a 4-minute walk), 7 Av on the B and Q (about 6 minutes), or Atlantic Av–Barclays Ctr on the D, N, and R (about 8 minutes).