At a Glance
A small Bushwick elementary that's more than doubled its test scores in a decade, though two-thirds of students remain chronically absent.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school — particularly Spanish-speaking households in East Bushwick who want a small, inclusive, community-rooted elementary and can prioritize daily attendance.
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
- Three consecutive years with zero suspensions — a rare record in this district and a real signal about how the school handles behavior.
- Test scores have more than doubled in both ELA and math over the past decade, an unusually steep climb from a very low starting point.
- Small size (about 250 students, average class size around 21) means teachers and families actually know each other.
- Strong parent trust — 91% trust their child's teacher, 89% trust the principal — even with only a 24% survey response rate.
- 22% of students have IEPs, signaling a notably inclusive environment for a community zoned school.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at nearly 68% is the single biggest issue facing the school — and it drags down everything, including test scores.
- Math proficiency at 25% is well below the district average, and 5th-grade math specifically sits at just 13.3%.
- The gap between parent trust (89–91%) and teacher-principal trust (67%) suggests internal staff dynamics worth probing on a school tour.
- District 32 peers like Success Academy Bushwick and P.S. 376 score substantially higher on the city survey — this is a below-average school within its peer set.
- Only 15 teachers responded to the climate survey, so some of those staff percentages come from a small sample.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 32
Within District 32, P.S. 75 sits clearly below its peers — the top charter, Success Academy Bushwick, scores 96 out of 100, and the next-highest zoned school, P.S. 376, scores 80. Against the district's average overall score of 1.78 out of 4, P.S. 75's 1.17 places it among the lower-performing zoned options, though the upward trajectory distinguishes it from schools that have flatlined.
Academics
At 33.3% ELA proficiency and 25% math, P.S. 75 sits roughly 13 points below the district average in English and 18 points below in math — a meaningful gap. But the trajectory is the more interesting story. In 2016, ELA proficiency was 14% and math was under 10%; by 2025, ELA hit a decade high of 33.3% and math climbed to 25%. The school is also notably stronger in 3rd grade (44.4% in both subjects) than in 5th grade, where math drops to just 13.3% — a pattern worth asking the school about directly.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here is calm and family-warm, not punitive: P.S. 75 has reported zero suspensions for three straight years, and 96% of teachers say the school feels safe (above the district average). Parents are engaged enough to give the principal and teachers high marks on trust. The weak spot is chronic absenteeism — nearly 68% of students miss 10% or more of school days, with Hispanic and male students hardest hit. There's also a noticeable trust gap: only 67% of teachers say they trust the principal, well below the 89% parents give. Worth asking about.
Community
Four out of five students here are Hispanic, with Black students making up most of the rest — a mirror of the surrounding East Bushwick neighborhood. The economic need index of 90.3% places this among the city's higher-need schools, and 22% of students have IEPs, slightly above the citywide share. PTA fundraising comes in at about $17 per student, nearly matching the district average despite the high need — a sign that the small parent base digs deep. The school draws almost entirely from its zoned neighborhood, not from outside applicants.
Neighborhood
East Bushwick is a densely settled, predominantly renter neighborhood with a median household income around $67,000 and a poverty rate near 24%. About a third of adults have a bachelor's degree, and the median home value approaching $950,000 in a low-homeownership area tells you gentrification pressure is real — the neighborhood is changing even as many long-time residents hold on. Households with children make up about 11.5% of all households, so families with school-age kids are a meaningful but not dominant slice of the area.
Three subway stations are within roughly an 8-minute walk: the J/Z at Gates Avenue (about 6 minutes), the M at Knickerbocker Avenue (about 8 minutes), and the J at Kosciuszko Street (about 8 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) · 41 families responded (24% 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. 075 Mayda Cortiella 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. 075 Mayda Cortiella 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. 075 Mayda Cortiella a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella earns an overall rating of 29/100 — 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 below the District 32 average.
- What grades does P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella serve?
- P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella?
- P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella is a public school in NYC Community School District 32.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella in?
- P.S. 075 Mayda Cortiella is in Bushwick (East), Brooklyn.