At a Glance
A high-achieving zoned school in Clinton Hill where PTA fundraising rivals private schools and test scores have nearly doubled in a decade.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want strong academics, a well-funded PTA, and a diverse but increasingly affluent Fort Greene community — and who can engage with a school culture that expects high parent involvement.
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
- Test scores have nearly doubled since 2016, with ELA jumping from 38.7% to 76.6% proficiency — one of the steeper improvement curves in the district.
- PTA fundraising of $1,906 per student is more than four times the district average, funding enrichment that most zoned schools can't match.
- Three consecutive years with zero suspensions and 100% of teachers reporting strong instruction and safety.
- Parent-teacher trust at 96% and strong-relationships score at 100% suggest unusually tight family-school ties.
- A genuinely diverse student body (79% diversity index) in a neighborhood that's increasingly affluent and White.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism of 71.7% is high and worth asking the school how they're addressing it, even though overall attendance looks fine.
- Fifth-grade math proficiency of 47.6% is noticeably weaker than the rest of the school — students may need extra support as they move up.
- Zoned school means admission depends on address; competition for seats in the surrounding blocks can be intense given the neighborhood's desirability.
- The school's strong results correlate with high parent wealth and PTA investment — families without the time or resources to engage in that fundraising culture should know what they're walking into.
- Only 13% of neighborhood households have children, so the school draws from a relatively small family pool within its zone.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 13
Within District 13 — home to other strong performers like P.S. 011 Purvis Behan and the Emily Warren Roebling School — P.S. 020 sits comfortably in the upper tier, with an overall score of 2.9/4 well above the district average of roughly 2.0/4.
Academics
ELA proficiency of 76.6% and math at 68.6% both run about 20+ points above the district averages of roughly 53% and 46%. The trajectory has been remarkable: ELA scores climbed from 38.7% in 2016 to 76.6% in 2025, and math from 39% to 68.6% over the same span. Third-graders are the strongest cohort (81.5% ELA, 80% math), with fifth-grade math at 47.6% the one area where the school still looks more typical of the district.
Culture
The school survey picture is unusually strong: 100% of teachers report quality instruction and feeling safe, and parent-teacher trust sits at 96%. Zero suspensions over three years signals a discipline approach that doesn't lean on removal. The wrinkle is chronic absenteeism at 71.7% — high even though overall attendance (91.5%) is above the district average — meaning many students attend regularly but enough are missing 10%+ of school to flag this as something families should ask about.
Community
Enrollment is 611 students in PK through 5th grade, with a class size right at the district average of about 21. The student body is racially mixed — 37% White, 30% Black, 19% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 4% Asian — and the diversity index of 79% reflects that. The economic need index of 39.6 is well below the citywide norm, pointing to a relatively affluent family base that matches the surrounding Fort Greene census profile of high incomes and high education levels.
Neighborhood
Fort Greene is a brownstone-lined Brooklyn neighborhood where the median household income tops $112,000 and nearly 59% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though only 13% of households include children — so it's a neighborhood of couples more than of families. The housing market reflects that: median home values over $1.1 million and just 21% homeownership, meaning most families here are renting in a competitive market.
The school is a roughly 6-minute walk from the Clinton-Washington Avs G train, about 7 minutes from Fulton St on the G, and about 8 minutes from Lafayette Av on the C — giving families three subway options within a short stroll.
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) · 137 families responded (21% 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. 020 Clinton Hill 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. 020 Clinton Hill 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. 020 Clinton Hill a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 020 Clinton Hill earns an overall rating of 73/100 — 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 above the District 13 average.
- What grades does P.S. 020 Clinton Hill serve?
- P.S. 020 Clinton Hill serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 020 Clinton Hill?
- P.S. 020 Clinton Hill admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 020 Clinton Hill public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 020 Clinton Hill is a public school in NYC Community School District 13.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 020 Clinton Hill in?
- P.S. 020 Clinton Hill is in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.