At a Glance
A small Coney Island elementary where test scores have nearly tripled in three years, though daily attendance challenges still shape the experience.
Best suited for
Families who live in the zone and want a small, tight-knit community elementary where their child's progress will be closely tracked — and who have a reliable way to handle the commute without the subway.
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
- Remarkable recent academic gains — both ELA and math proficiency have roughly tripled since 2022
- Exceptionally high parent trust and satisfaction at 97% across multiple measures
- 100% of teachers report strong relationships with students
- Very low suspension rate, suggesting a supportive rather than punitive environment
- Small size of about 260 students fosters a close-knit community
Things to consider
- Attendance is a significant challenge — chronic absenteeism above 40% means many students miss meaningful classroom time
- Test scores, while improving rapidly, still sit well below district averages
- No subway access within a 20-minute walk — commuting requires a car, bus, or other arrangements
- Teacher instruction quality ratings are notably below district norms
- Stronger-performing options, including gifted programs and charter schools, are accessible elsewhere in District 21
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 21
Among District 21 peers profiled, P.S. 188 sits well behind the gifted-and-talented programs and charter options that post scores in the 90s. It is more comparable to other neighborhood zoned schools like P.S. 90 and P.S. 101, but trails them on overall score.
Academics
At 36.5% ELA proficiency and 40.4% in math, P.S. 188 sits roughly 23 percentage points below the District 21 averages in both subjects. But the trend line is the more striking story: ELA proficiency climbed from 13.7% in 2022 to 36.5% in 2025, and math from 10.2% to 40.4% — the largest gains in the school's recent history. Performance varies sharply by grade, with third-graders hitting 73.3% proficiency in math while fourth-graders drop to 13.8%, suggesting uneven classroom experiences across cohorts.
Culture
Parent satisfaction is unusually high at 97% — well above the district average — and 100% of teachers report strong relationships with students. The view from teachers is more mixed: only 75% rate instruction quality positively (versus 92.6% district-wide) and 93% feel safe (versus 96.8%). Attendance is a real concern at 85.9%, with chronic absenteeism at 40.7%, meaning two in five students miss significant school time. Discipline is minimal — just three suspensions last year — pointing to a warm rather than punitive environment.
Community
The student body is 57% Black, 31% Hispanic, and 5% white, broadly reflecting the racial makeup of Coney Island-Sea Gate. With an economic need index of 94.2%, nearly every student comes from a low-income household. At about 260 students with an average class size of 24.6, the school is small enough that families are likely to know each other and the staff personally.
Neighborhood
Coney Island-Sea Gate is a working-class neighborhood where median household income hovers around $44,000 and roughly 28% of residents own their homes, with a typical home valued near $886,000. About 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The school sits in a community where many families are raising children on tight budgets, and where the rhythms of the neighborhood — rather than easy transit access — shape how kids get to school each day.
The school is beyond walking distance of the subway — there are no stations within a 20-minute walk — so most families rely on cars, school buses, or other transportation to get here.
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) · 146 families responded (64% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy 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. 188 Michael E. Berdy 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. 188 Michael E. Berdy a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy earns an overall rating of 39/100 — 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 21 average.
- What grades does P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy serve?
- P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy?
- P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy is a public school in NYC Community School District 21.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy in?
- P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy is in Coney Island-Sea Gate, Brooklyn.