At a Glance
A tiny zoned elementary in gentrified Williamsburg where a predominantly Hispanic student body just posted its strongest test scores on record.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want an intimate elementary community with strong family engagement and are comfortable navigating a school where attendance support and a robust special education program are central to daily life.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- 2025 math proficiency (63%) now exceeds the district average — a remarkable single-year turnaround from 31.8% the prior year.
- A genuinely small school of 217 students where nearly every family can be known by name.
- Parent-principal trust at 96% and 100% of families report strong relationships with teachers.
- About 31% of students have IEPs — one of the higher special education concentrations in the district.
- Three subway lines within a 10-minute walk, an unusually well-connected campus.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 55% means more than half of students miss significant school, which affects learning regardless of what test scores suggest.
- The 2025 test score jump was dramatic enough to warrant questions about what's driving it and whether the gains will hold.
- Grade 3 results (under 33% in both subjects) lag far behind grades 4 and 5, suggesting uneven preparation as students enter tested grades.
- PTA fundraising of just $24 per student versus a $123 district average sharply limits what the school can offer beyond the standard curriculum.
- Teacher-reported safety (88%) is meaningfully below the district's 97%, even though the discipline record itself is clean.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 14
P.S. 17's overall score of 2.41 out of 4 sits essentially at the District 14 average of 2.44, but the district is heavily shaped by high-performing Success Academy charters and selective programs. Among traditional zoned schools in the area, P.S. 17 is closer to the middle of the pack than a standout — though its recent test score gains have moved the needle.
Academics
The 2025 results are striking: ELA proficiency jumped from 19.8% to 57.5% and math from 31.8% to 63% in a single year. Math now sits above the district average of 59.5%, while ELA (57.5%) trails the district's 62.4%. A look at grade-level data shows the gains are concentrated in the upper grades — Grade 4 hit 82.9% in math, Grade 5 reached 77.8% in ELA — while Grade 3 scores (29.6% ELA, 32.1% math) remain a clear weak spot. The single-year swing is sharp enough that parents should ask what's driving it and whether it's sustainable.
Culture
Day-to-day, this feels like a school where families feel heard: 96% of parents trust the principal, 100% report strong relationships with teachers, and parent satisfaction matches the district average. Teachers feel less aligned with school leadership (74% trust in principal) and report notably lower safety perceptions (88% versus 97% districtwide). The most pressing climate issue is chronic absenteeism — 55% of students missed enough school to be flagged — but discipline is essentially a non-issue, with just one suspension over the past three years.
Community
The student body is 83% Hispanic with a 77.6 economic need index and 31% of students with IEPs — a population shaped by immigrant and working-class Williamsburg families who have lived in the area through its transformation. The school demographic looks notably different from the surrounding census tract, where the median household income exceeds $128,000 and nearly two-thirds of adults hold a bachelor's degree. That gap between zoned enrollment and neighborhood economics is one of the defining features of P.S. 17.
Neighborhood
Williamsburg today is a neighborhood of high earners and renters — the median household income is roughly $129,000, more than six in ten adults have a bachelor's degree, and homeownership sits below 17%. Family households make up only about an eighth of all homes, a signal of how the area's demographics have shifted. The school sits among this transformed landscape, serving families who often reflect an older, more working-class Williamsburg.
Transit access is genuinely strong — Bedford Avenue on the L is about a three-minute walk, Metropolitan Avenue on the G about eight minutes, and Marcy Avenue on the M, J, and Z lines about ten minutes.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 112 families responded (59% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth earns an overall rating of 60/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run in line with the District 14 average.
- What grades does P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth serve?
- P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth?
- P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth is a public school in NYC Community School District 14.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth in?
- P.S. 017 Henry D. Woodworth is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.