P.S. 226 Alfred De B. Mason

Academic proficiency here runs below the District 21 average. ELA proficiency at 50.3% lags the district's 60%, and math at 48.1% is well behind the district's 63.2%. Test scores have bounced around over the past decade — ELA peaked at 56.8% in 2018 and has hovered in the high 40s to low 50s since, while math has been more erratic, dipping to 39.1% in 2022 before recovering to the current 48.1%. The picture by grade is uneven: 3rd through 5th graders perform in the low-to-mid 50s, but 6th graders drop to 34.7% in math, and 7th and 8th grade scores slide into the high 30s and 40s. Science proficiency is low at 15.9%, suggesting students aren't consistently meeting grade-level expectations on the science exam.

The day-to-day feel of P.S. 226 is warmer than the test scores suggest. Family survey responses were unusually strong: 100% of respondents said the school maintains strong relationships, 97% trust the teachers, and 96% trust the principal. Teacher-reported safety is solid at 95%, though a touch below the district average, and 93% of teachers rate instruction quality positively. Discipline is manageable — just 7 suspensions last year, down from 10 the year before, with no suspensions the year prior. The one red flag is chronic absenteeism at 73.7%, which is very high even for a district where missed days are common, and it rises to 79% among Asian students. Overall, though, this looks like a school where families feel heard and the building is calm.

The student body mirrors the surrounding neighborhood closely. White students make up 35%, Hispanic 34%, and Asian 28%, with Black, multiracial, and Native American students each at 1% or less. The diversity index of 68% reflects a genuinely mixed population, though not as varied as some Brooklyn schools. The economic need index of 77.7% indicates a higher share of students from lower-income families than the citywide average, and 18% of students have IEPs. ELL support is offered, which matters given the family's linguistic range.

P.S. 226 sits in Mapleton-Midwood, a family-dense corner of Brooklyn where one in three households includes children. Median household income is around $71,400 with a poverty rate of 18.3%, and 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Homeownership sits at 41.6%, with a median home value over $1 million, reflecting the area's shift toward more affluent buyers even as a substantial share of families rent. The neighborhood is solidly middle-class, family-oriented, and increasingly expensive.

The school is a quick walk from the F train at Avenue N (about 4 minutes) and within an 8-minute walk of the F and N trains at Bay Parkway — a commuter's sweet spot for Midwood families.