P.S. 028 Mount Hope

The academic story here is one of real, if uneven, progress. In 2016, only about a quarter of students were proficient in ELA and math; this year, 44.1% are proficient in ELA (just shy of the district average of about 44.8%) and 48.7% are proficient in math (above the district average of 44.7%). The school's overall quality score of 1.86 out of 4 edges out the district average of 1.79. That said, the trajectory hasn't been smooth — scores spiked in 2023, dropped sharply in 2024, then jumped again in 2025 — so a single good year shouldn't be mistaken for a settled trend. Third-graders are the academic bright spot, with 65.2% math proficiency and 50% ELA proficiency, while older grades lag behind.

Families love this school. Parent satisfaction is 99%, parent-teacher trust and parent-principal trust are at 100%, and 100% of surveyed parents say the school maintains strong relationships — all meaningfully above district averages. Teachers are more measured: 91% rate instruction quality positively (above average), but only 78% trust the principal and only 71% say students feel safe at school (well below the district average of 83%). The school has reported zero suspensions for three straight years, which is genuinely remarkable. The tension to watch is the attendance picture: 90.1% attendance is right at the district average, but 60.8% of students are chronically absent — meaning more than half are missing enough school to be considered at risk academically, even as their parents enthusiastically endorse the school.

The student body is 79% Hispanic and 19% Black, with very small Asian, White, and Native American populations, and a diversity index of 35% — meaning most students share a similar cultural background. Twenty-five percent of students have IEPs, well above the citywide norm, and the economic need index of 94.2% indicates almost every student qualifies as low-income. This is a school where almost everyone is coming from similar circumstances, and the families reflect the working-class Latino character of the surrounding neighborhood.

Mount Hope is a predominantly renter neighborhood in the central part of the borough, where the poverty rate of 31.4% and median household income of $41,487 reflect real material struggle. Just 13.1% of households have children under 18, and only 15% of adults have a bachelor's degree — typical of a working-class, immigrant-rooted community. Homeownership is unusually low at 3.9%, meaning most families rent and stability can be fragile. The good news is that families have solid transit access, with three subway stations within a roughly nine-minute walk.

Three subway stations serve the area: Tremont Av on the B and D lines is about a four-minute walk, 174-175 Sts on the B and D is about eight minutes, and Burnside Av on the 4 line is about nine minutes away.