P.S. 236 Mill Basin

Test scores here run well ahead of the district: 77.4% ELA proficiency versus a district average near 61%, and 79.1% math versus about 60%. The math trend is the cleaner story — climbing from 71.6% in 2016 to 79.1% in 2025 with only minor dips. ELA has bounced around in the 68–74% range for years and jumped sharply this year to 77.4%, the school's best result on record. By grade, the picture is strong: third and fourth graders are posting math proficiency above 83%, and fifth-grade ELA hit 84.3%. The one soft spot is fifth-grade math at 68.7%, a noticeable dip from the lower grades that's worth asking about if you have an older child entering the school.

The day-to-day feel here reads as calm and connected. Zero suspensions in 2023-24 (and the year before that), with teacher-reported safety at 100% and parent-teacher and parent-principal trust both in the high 90s — these are unusual numbers, even for a well-regarded school. Parent satisfaction is 95%, well above the district average of about 91%, and the 315 family survey responses suggest families are actively weighing in. The catch is chronic absenteeism: at 71.8%, it's substantially elevated, and it's highest among Black students (80%) and multiracial students (89.5%). That doesn't necessarily mean the school feels chaotic — the survey data suggests the opposite — but it does mean a large share of kids are missing enough school to be flagged, which over time affects everything from test scores to social continuity.

The student body is majority White (50%), with sizeable Asian (18%) and Black (16%) populations and a smaller Hispanic contingent (12%). That mix roughly tracks the surrounding neighborhood, which is predominantly White, homeowner-heavy, and middle-to-upper-middle income — the economic need index of 31 is well below city norms. Fifteen percent of students have IEPs, which is in line with what you'd expect at a school this size. The diversity index of 76% reflects a school that's genuinely mixed but not as pluralistic as some Brooklyn peers.

The school sits in the Marine Park-Mill Basin-Bergen Beach area of southern Brooklyn, a low-poverty, family-dense pocket where the median household income is around $108,000, nearly three-quarters of households own their homes, and 43% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher. About a quarter of households include children, so it's the kind of place where school drop-off is a genuine neighborhood ritual. The trade-off is that this part of Brooklyn is firmly car territory rather than transit territory.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk, so most families drive, get dropped off, or rely on the school bus. If subway access is a daily must-have for your family's routine, factor that commute in early.