P.S. 086 The Irvington

ELA proficiency of 42.7% and math proficiency of 41.4% both sit slightly below the District 32 averages of 45.9% and 43.2%, but the recent jump is the real story: proficiency roughly doubled from the 21.9% ELA and 27% math posted just one year earlier. The longer arc is even more dramatic — scores were in the mid-teens back in 2016, climbed steadily through 2019, dipped during the COVID years, and are now at the highest level on record. Grade 5 leads in ELA (54.2%) and grade 3 leads in math (52.8%), while grade 4 is the soft spot, with only 22.9% of students meeting math proficiency.

The day-to-day feel inside the building reads positively: 97% of teachers report feeling safe (above the district's 95.8%), parent-teacher trust sits at 92%, parent-principal trust at 89%, and there have been zero suspensions for three consecutive years — a notable climate signal. That said, chronic absenteeism at 78.6% is high and worth investigating directly with the school, since high survey trust doesn't always translate into daily attendance. Attendance overall at 93.1% is above the district average, which suggests the chronic absenteeism figure may be concentrated in a smaller subgroup of families.

The student body is 95% Hispanic with a diversity index of just 15%, making this one of the more homogeneous schools in the district. The economic need index of 89.6 signals deep working-class roots — most families qualify for free lunch, and PTA fundraising comes in at only about $28 per student (above the district average of $17, but still modest in absolute terms). Roughly 19% of students have IEPs, and the strong family-satisfaction scores suggest those services are landing well with parents. This is fundamentally a neighborhood school serving neighborhood kids.

Bushwick (West) is a working-class, renter-heavy pocket of Brooklyn where homeownership sits at just 11.1% and the median household income is $86,760. About 10.9% of households have children, and 44.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — a mix of longer-term Latino residents and newer arrivals that gives the area real cultural texture. The area has been changing quickly over the past decade, but the school reflects the families who have been rooted here for generations.

Three subway stations are within a short walk — the M at Knickerbocker Av (about 4 minutes), the L at DeKalb Av (about 5 minutes), and the M at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs (about 6 minutes) — making this one of the better-connected zoned schools in the area.