At a Glance
A tiny, parent-trusted zoned school in Crown Heights North where a tight-knit community wrestles with real academic headwinds
Best suited for
Families zoned for P.S. 191 who value a small, relationship-driven neighborhood school, can prioritize daily attendance, and are comfortable partnering closely with teachers around academic growth.
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
- 95% parent satisfaction and 97% parent-teacher trust — rare numbers for a school whose test scores are below the district average
- Zero suspensions reported in each of the last three school years, signaling a fully non-punitive discipline approach
- 100% of surveyed families report the school builds strong relationships between staff and students
- 31% of students have IEPs — among the higher inclusion rates in the district, paired with small enrollment that lets staff know each child
- Tiny school size (145 students) creates a tight community but limits the variety of programs, peers, and grade-level activities a larger zoned school can offer
Things to consider
- Math proficiency dropped from 68% in 2023 to 35% in 2025 — a two-year slide worth asking the school directly about
- 44% chronic absenteeism is high, and roughly half of Hispanic students and nearly half of female students are missing extended stretches of school
- ELA proficiency swung from 16% to 51% in a single year, suggesting small cohort effects rather than steady school-wide performance
- Teacher-rated instruction quality (84%) sits below the district average of 89%
- With only 145 students across PK through 5 and SE, families should expect fewer enrichment options and a narrower peer pool than at larger zoned schools
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 17
Within District 17, P.S. 191 sits well below the district's middle-of-the-pack averages on ELA, math, attendance, and overall quality score. Peer schools like P.S. 249 The Caton (89/100) and P.S. 316 Elijah Stroud (77/100) score notably higher, and the local Success Academy charters score in the high 90s — so families with realistic zoned options will want to compare carefully.
Academics
Both proficiency rates trail District 17 averages by roughly 10 points in ELA and over 20 points in math. The longer trajectory is volatile rather than clearly improving or declining — ELA bounced between roughly 30% and 55% for years, then collapsed to 15.8% in 2024 before snapping back to 51% in 2025. Math tells a more worrying story: after a strong 68.3% in 2023, scores fell to 32% and 35% in the two most recent years. Within the school, Grade 4 stands out with 81% ELA proficiency, while Grade 3 and Grade 5 sit much lower — a pattern that often signals strong cohorts moving through rather than consistent school-wide gains.
Culture
Families who engage here clearly love the school: parent satisfaction, teacher trust, and principal trust all sit in the 90s, and the school reports zero suspensions in each of the last three years — a strikingly non-punitive environment. But attendance is a real concern. Only 87.4% of students attend regularly (district average is 91%), and 44% are chronically absent, with Hispanic students especially affected at 56%. Teacher-rated instruction quality (84%) trails the district's 89%. The day-to-day feel is warm and relational, but a significant share of students are simply not in the room often enough for instruction to fully land.
Community
P.S. 191's enrollment is 85% Black and 12% Hispanic, with very small Asian, White, and multiracial shares — a homogeneity index of 30%, meaning the school is more concentrated than most NYC elementary schools. The economic need index of 92 signals a high-poverty student body, and 31% of students have IEPs, well above typical. Surrounding Crown Heights North tells a different demographic story: median household income around $74K, 42% of adults with a bachelor's degree, and median home values above $1 million — signs of a neighborhood that is changing faster than the school's enrollment has.
Neighborhood
Crown Heights North around P.S. 191 is a neighborhood in transition: highly educated adults and expensive homes sit alongside a 20% poverty rate, and only about 11% of households have children at home — meaning many local families are either small, newer, or both. Getting to school takes a bit of effort — the nearest subway is the 3 train at Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road, roughly a 10-minute walk.
The school is about a 10-minute walk from the Sutter Av–Rutland Rd (3) station, with the Ralph Av (C) and Crown Hts–Utica Av (3, 4) stops each about an 11-minute walk away.
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) · 26 families responded (18% 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. 191 Paul Robeson 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. 191 Paul Robeson 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. 191 Paul Robeson a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 191 Paul Robeson earns an overall rating of 43/100 — 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 17 average.
- What grades does P.S. 191 Paul Robeson serve?
- P.S. 191 Paul Robeson serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 191 Paul Robeson?
- P.S. 191 Paul Robeson admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 191 Paul Robeson public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 191 Paul Robeson is a public school in NYC Community School District 17.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 191 Paul Robeson in?
- P.S. 191 Paul Robeson is in Crown Heights (North), Brooklyn.