P.S. 153 Homecrest

ELA proficiency at 43.9% trails the district average of about 60% by roughly 16 percentage points, and math at 49.8% sits about 13 points below the district's 63%. The trajectory has been bumpy — ELA peaked near 49% in 2018, dropped to 33% in 2024, and rebounded this year; math has held steadier, generally in the high 40s to high 50s. One pattern worth noting: Grade 3 results (54.5% ELA, 58.5% math) are noticeably stronger than Grades 4 and 5, suggesting an upper-grade slide the school may want to address.

Attendance is right at the district average, but chronic absenteeism at 69.2% means more than two-thirds of students miss 10% or more of the school year — a serious drag on academic outcomes. The discipline story is the bright spot: zero suspensions for three consecutive years, well below the district rate. Parents feel heard (93% satisfaction, 97% trust the principal), but there's a striking gap on the staff side — only 58% of teachers trust the principal and just 77% rate instruction quality positively (vs. 92.6% district average). The school runs warm for families and orderly for kids, but the faculty culture looks less unified.

The student body — roughly a third White, just over a third Hispanic, and about a fifth Asian, with smaller Black and Native American populations — closely mirrors the surrounding neighborhood's mix. The economic need index of 78.6% means most students come from lower-income households, and 18% have IEPs. PTA fundraising lands at about $43 per student, roughly half the district average, which limits what the school can self-fund for enrichment — but parent satisfaction at 93% shows families are engaged in ways that don't show up in dollars.

Homecrest is a residential stretch of southern Brooklyn with a working- and middle-class character — median household income around $69,000, just over a quarter of households with children, and a 40% rate of college-educated adults. About 16.7% of residents live below the poverty line and homeownership sits at 36%, a renter-heavy mix that reflects the area's many immigrant and multi-generational households. The neighborhood has a settled, family-oriented feel rather than a destination vibe.

Avenue U on the Q is about a 6-minute walk, with Neck Rd (Q) around 10 minutes and Kings Hwy (B, Q) about 11 minutes — solid Q-line access for southern Brooklyn families.