At a Glance
A zoned Gravesend elementary where families deeply trust the school — but where chronic absenteeism is the elephant in the room.
Best suited for
Families zoned for it who want a high-trust, integrated elementary with an unusually engaged parent base, and who are willing to partner with the school on the attendance challenge.
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
- Parent-principal trust at 98% and zero suspensions over two years — a remarkably calm, high-trust culture for a District 21 zoned school.
- ELA proficiency running 5+ points above the district average, with a clear rebound in 2025 from last year's dip.
- An active PTA raising $103 per student — meaningfully above the district's $79 per-student average.
- A genuinely integrated student body (42% white, 28% Asian, 27% Hispanic) in a district where many schools are more segregated.
- Teacher-reported safety at 100% and 96% collegial trust among staff — a school adults want to work in.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 70% is the single biggest red flag — ask the school directly what they are doing about it, especially given the 78.3% rate among Asian students.
- Math proficiency is only at the district average — if math is your priority, this is not a standout.
- The 2024 ELA drop to 46% was steep and worth asking about, even though 2025 has rebounded.
- Economic need index of 69.5% means many families are juggling a lot — the school's high engagement is doing real work to compensate.
- Zoned only — there is no admissions option unless you live within the zone.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 21
In District 21, home to standouts like Brooklyn School of Inquiry, Mark Twain I.S. 239, and I.S. 98 Bay Academy, P.S. 215 sits in the solid middle — better than the district average on ELA, overall score, attendance, and parent trust, but well below the gifted-and-talented and charter options on raw results.
Academics
At 65.7% ELA and 63.6% math, P.S. 215 lands above the district's ELA average (60%) and roughly even on math (63.2%). The overall score of 2.59/4 edges out the district's 2.46. Scores have bounced in the high 50s to mid-60s for most of the last decade — the 2024 dip to 46.2% in ELA was steep, but 2025 shows a clear rebound. Grade 3 ELA leads the pack at 67.3%, while math is more uneven across grades.
Culture
This is a school where families feel heard and teachers feel safe — parent-principal trust at 98%, teacher-reported safety at 100%, strong relationships 98%, and zero suspensions over the last two years. But chronic absenteeism at 70.2% is the most striking number on the page, far above the district rate and notably higher among Asian students (78.3%). The combination of high parent engagement alongside very high absenteeism suggests families are invested in the school — but getting kids through the door every day is the real challenge.
Community
With 714 students across PK through 5, P.S. 215 mirrors the surrounding neighborhood mix — 42% white, 28% Asian, 27% Hispanic — making it one of the more integrated schools in a district where many campuses are more segregated. The economic need index of 69.5% sits well above the citywide average, and PTA fundraising of $103 per student is meaningfully above the district's $79, a sign of an unusually active parent base for a school with this level of need.
Neighborhood
Gravesend–Homecrest is a family-dense pocket of southern Brooklyn where roughly a quarter of households have kids, median income sits in the high $60Ks, and homeownership splits between long-time owners and newer buyers drawn by million-dollar-plus homes. About 17% of residents live below the poverty line, and 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — a working- and middle-class stretch with a real mix of recent immigrants and multi-generational Brooklyn families. The F train runs straight through, with several stops within easy reach.
The Kings Highway F stop is about a three-minute walk from the school; the Avenue P and Avenue U F stops are both about a ten-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) · 430 families responded (64% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss 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. 215 Morris H. Weiss 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. 215 Morris H. Weiss a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss earns an overall rating of 65/100 — 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 in line with the District 21 average.
- What grades does P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss serve?
- P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss?
- P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss is a public school in NYC Community School District 21.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss in?
- P.S. 215 Morris H. Weiss is in Gravesend (East)-Homecrest, Brooklyn.