P.S. 018 Edward Bush

The numbers tell a story of late-arriving momentum. ELA proficiency jumped from 19.3% in 2024 to 41.5% in 2025, and math climbed from 18.6% to 30.9% — both still well below district averages of 62.4% and 59.5%, but a meaningful turnaround after several stagnant years. Grade-level results are uneven: third and fifth graders hit around 47% in ELA while fourth graders drop to 29%, and fifth-grade math collapses to 10.5% — a flag that something specific is happening for that cohort. Students here are catching up rather than leading, and the school is not yet where the district sits overall.

The day-to-day feel leans warm and orderly. Teachers report 100% on safety and 92% on instruction quality, both right at district norms, while parents give 99% trust in the principal and a perfect score on relationships — numbers that say families feel seen. Zero suspensions across three years is quietly remarkable; the school seems to resolve issues without removing kids from class. Two things deserve a closer look: teacher-principal trust is at 78%, noticeably lower than parent trust, and 60% of students are chronically absent even with an 89.6% attendance rate — meaning a large share of kids are missing school at concerning levels.

The school serves a predominantly Hispanic (64%) and Black (23%) student body, with a 78.7 economic need index and 29% of students with IEPs — one of the higher inclusion rates in the district. That mix mirrors East Williamsburg's working-class roots, where the median household income sits around $81,788 and nearly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. PTA fundraising runs about $36 per student, well below the district's $123, so families here are stretched thin, but a real cross-section of the neighborhood walks through the doors.

East Williamsburg is a renter-heavy, polyglot Brooklyn neighborhood where incomes stretch from working-class to middle-class and home values near $1,048,275 reflect how much the area has reshaped in recent years. About 44% of neighborhood adults hold a bachelor's degree, and roughly a quarter of families live below the poverty line, so P.S. 018 draws from a genuine mix of newcomers and long-time residents. The school sits within easy reach of three subway stops, making drop-off workable even for families whose commutes run elsewhere.

Three subway stops within about a 6-minute walk — Graham Av (L), Lorimer St (L), and Metropolitan Av (G) — make this an easy commute for families coming along the L from Bushwick or Williamsburg, or hopping on the G from Queens.