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MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM

2130 MCDONALD AVENUE

At a Glance

A large Sephardic Jewish day school where Torah, intellectual curiosity, and a love of Israel shape the elementary years.

Best suited for

Sephardic Jewish families in southern Brooklyn who want a Torah-centered elementary education with small classes and a deeply rooted community.

What stands out

  • A 6:1 student-teacher ratio across more than 1,400 students — an unusually low ratio for a school this large, suggesting real small-class attention.
  • An explicitly Sephardic Jewish identity with curricula (Jewish Philosophy, educational technology) shaped around Torah and Israel-centered learning.
  • Rolling admissions with no fixed deadline, removing the pressure-cooker application timing common at other NYC privates.
  • Dual accreditation through Prizmah and the Jewish Community Day School Association, signaling professional standards and peer accountability.
  • A combined PK-5 structure that lets families stay in one community through the elementary years.

Things to consider

  • This is a religious school first — Sephardic families will feel at home, but it isn't designed as a culturally secular option.
  • Enrollment of 1,457 is large for an elementary school; the small ratio helps, but parents should ask how that scale is managed day-to-day.
  • Public review data is thin, so visiting and talking to current families matters more here than at schools with abundant online feedback.
  • Tuition is not listed in publicly reported data, so families should confirm cost and financial aid directly with the school.
  • Located in southern Brooklyn, so commute logistics matter for families coming from other parts of the city.

Identity

Religious

A combined elementary school (PK-5) rooted in the Sephardic Jewish tradition, dedicated to academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and a deep love of Torah and Israel. The school is coeducational and grounded in Jewish day school pedagogy rather than secular progressive or traditional models. Its identity is explicitly religious and community-based.

Community

Homogeneous

The student body is reported as 100% White with a diversity index of 0, which here reflects the school's identity as a Sephardic community institution rather than demographic exclusion. At roughly 1,457 students, this is one of the larger elementary private schools in Brooklyn and serves as a community anchor for Sephardic families in southern Brooklyn.

Neighborhood

Gravesend (West)

The school sits in Gravesend (West) in southern Brooklyn, where the median household income is around $72,000 and about 23% of residents live below the poverty line. Roughly 30% of adults in the area hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the surrounding blocks have the settled feel of a long-established Brooklyn neighborhood. This is a community-rooted school serving families who live in and around the southern Brooklyn Sephardic enclave.

The school is well-served by subway: Kings Hwy (F) is about a 4-minute walk, Avenue U (F) is about 7 minutes, and Avenue U (N) is about 8 minutes.

Notable Programs

Jewish Philosophy curriculumScience & Torah curriculum (12th grade)Educational Technology programs

What Parents Are Saying

One positive review mentions excellent teachers and rebbes, but there is insufficient data for a summary.

Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM a good school?
Published quality ratings aren't available for MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Gravesend (West).
What grades does MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM serve?
MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM serves grades Pre-K to 5.
How do students get into MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM?
MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
Is MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM public, charter, or private?
MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM is a private school.
What neighborhood is MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM in?
MAGEN DAVID YESH-ISAAC SHALOM is in Gravesend (West), Brooklyn.