P.S. 149 Danny Kaye

The story here is the climb. In 2016, only about a fifth of students hit proficiency in ELA and math; by 2025, 78.9% are proficient in ELA and 83.4% in math — both well above the district averages of roughly 49% and 48%. The trajectory has been remarkably steady upward, with a small dip in 2022 (likely pandemic-related) before rebounding sharply. By grade 3, proficiency hits 86.6% in ELA and 90.9% in math, while grade 5 holds strong at 80% ELA and 69.6% math. Grade-level results are above citywide norms in nearly every cell, which is unusual for a school with an 86% economic need index.

Teachers and families consistently report a warm, well-run environment. Teacher-reported safety is 97% (vs. 92% district average), trust between teachers and the principal is a perfect 100%, and 97% of teachers rate instruction quality highly — about 10 points above the district average. Parent satisfaction is 98%, and 442 families responded to the survey, a 92% response rate that signals real engagement. Discipline is light: only 3 suspensions in 2023-24, and the rate has hovered near zero in recent years. The one number that gives pause is chronic absenteeism at 62.3%, meaning most students miss significant school time even though the overall attendance rate of 90.4% looks fine on the surface — a pattern that probably reflects post-pandemic routines more than any school-specific issue.

The student body is 56% Black, 38% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and small shares of other groups, mirroring the demographics of East New York (North) where median household income sits around $57,800 and a quarter of residents live in poverty. Twenty percent of students have IEPs, reflecting a real range of learning needs that the staff appears to be meeting well given the academic outcomes. The PTA raised about $17 per student last year, just under the district average of $18.50 — modest but not unusual for a high-need community.

East New York (North) is a working-class, family-rooted pocket of eastern Brooklyn where about 17% of households include children and nearly a third of residents own their homes. Median home value is around $617,000, and just 15.7% of adults have a bachelor's degree, putting real pressure on schools to be the academic engine. P.S. 149 serves as that engine for many of these families, with results that far exceed what the neighborhood's economic profile might predict.

Families can reach the school on foot from the Van Siclen Avenue C train (about 6 minutes) or from the Van Siclen Avenue or Pennsylvania Avenue 3 train stops (each about 7 minutes away)