P.S. 056 Lewis H. Latimer

The academic story here is one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the district. In 2018, only about a quarter of students were proficient in ELA and a fifth in math — well below peers. By 2025, ELA proficiency has climbed to 62.1% (vs. the district average of 53.1%) and math to 55.8% (vs. 45.9%). The trajectory has been steady and steep: each year since 2022 has brought double-digit gains. The school's overall quality review score of 2.36 out of 4 also runs ahead of the district average of 1.98. Fourth graders are the strongest cohort at 76% ELA proficiency, while third and fifth graders land closer to the school average.

The day-to-day feel here is warm and orderly. There have been zero suspensions in each of the last two school years, which is unusual and worth noting. Teacher-reported safety is at 100%, and teacher trust in the principal is at 96%. Parents are highly satisfied (92%) and report 100% strong relationships with teachers — though it's worth flagging that the family survey response rate was 45%, so these views come from a fairly engaged slice of families. The one real climate warning sign is chronic absenteeism: 61.8% of students missed enough school to be flagged, well above what you'd want to see. The pattern within subgroups is striking — white and multiracial students show much higher chronic absenteeism rates than Black and Hispanic students — suggesting attendance issues aren't concentrated in any one demographic but cut across the school.

The student body reflects a mix of long-time Clinton Hill residents and newer arrivals: 42% Black, 34% White, 15% Hispanic, with smaller Asian, multiracial, and Native American shares. The diversity index of 74% indicates a genuinely mixed school rather than a demographic monoculture. About 19% of students have IEPs, and the economic need index of 44.9% sits in the middle range — meaning the school serves a real mix of family incomes rather than skewing heavily in either direction. With only 253 students, it's the kind of place where most families know each other by sight.

Clinton Hill is one of Brooklyn's wealthier, more educated neighborhoods, with a median household income of $118,733 and 71.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Only about 13.5% of households here have children, so the zoned school-age population is a relatively small slice of the neighborhood. The poverty rate of 10.3% is modest, and the homeownership rate of 39.3% signals a stable, owner-occupied core alongside renters. Median home values over $1.1 million put this firmly in the gentrified Brooklyn category — the kind of place where PTA fundraising runs strong and parent involvement tends to be high.

Three subway options within a 6-to-7-minute walk: the G at Classon Avenue, and the C at both Franklin Avenue and Clinton-Washington Avenues. Most families can get here without a car.