P.S. 239

ELA proficiency (31.9%) and math proficiency (33.3%) both trail the district averages of roughly 51% and 55% by nearly 20 percentage points — a meaningful gap, not a rounding error. The trajectory has been bumpy rather than directional: ELA peaked at 42.8% in 2019, dropped sharply during the pandemic, recovered to 37.2% in 2023, dipped again, and now sits at 31.9%. Grade 3 results are the weakest link (26.9% ELA, 21.4% math), while Grade 4 posted the school's strongest numbers (36.8% ELA, 42.1% math), suggesting students gain ground as they move through the school.

Day-to-day, this feels like a calm, well-loved school. Attendance matches the district at 92%, and the school reported zero suspensions in 2023-24 (and 2022-23) — a notably low-discipline environment. Parents give the school rave reviews: 95% satisfaction, 97% trust in teachers, 96% trust in the principal, 254 families weighing in. Teacher ratings are solid but more mixed — 92% on instruction quality, 84% on trust in the principal, and 93% on safety (a touch below the district's 95%). Chronic absenteeism is high at 74.1%, but this is part of a citywide pattern under the new federal definition and doesn't seem to reflect a uniquely disengaged community here.

P.S. 239's 459 students are 76% Hispanic, 10% White, 9% Asian, and 2% Black, with a 77.7 economic need index and 21% of students with IEPs — a predominantly Latino, working-class population. The diversity index of 43% is moderate rather than high, largely because one demographic group dominates. This matches the Ridgewood census profile, which shows a neighborhood with $83,559 median household income, 12.6% poverty, and just 17.2% of households with children — a renter-heavy area (20% homeownership) where families are a minority but a committed one.

Ridgewood is a densely built, renter-heavy neighborhood where homeownership sits at just 20.4% and median home values clear seven figures — a sign of how much the housing market has shifted even as household incomes remain middle-class. A third of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% of households include children, meaning this is more an area of young renters and longtime families than a classic suburban school zone. The $1,023,673 median home value tells you this is no longer a budget neighborhood, even if incomes haven't fully caught up.

Three subway options within a short walk: the L at Halsey Street (about 6 minutes) and the M at either Forest Avenue or Seneca Avenue (each about 7 minutes).