P.S. 243K- The Weeksville School

Test scores are far below the district average: 32% ELA proficiency versus a district average of 58%, and 31% Math proficiency versus 57%. The overall quality rating of 1.26 out of 4 also trails the district's 2.29. There is, however, an interesting recent story — proficiency jumped from 15% ELA and 13% Math in 2024 to 32% and 31% in 2025, the strongest showing in nearly a decade of data. That bump is concentrated in the younger grades; Grade 3 students posted 39% ELA and 58% Math proficiency, while Grade 4 and 5 scores fall off, with Grade 4 Math particularly weak at 13%.

Parents and students seem to feel genuinely cared for — 95% parent satisfaction (above the district's 91%) and a perfect 100% rating on strong relationships between staff and families. But the teacher side of the picture is more uneven: only 76% of teachers rate instruction quality high (district average 86%), 74% trust the principal, and only 80% report feeling safe at work, well below the district's 94%. Attendance is slightly above district average at 89.2%, but chronic absenteeism is high at 56.8% — more than half of students are missing 18 or more days a year. On the upside, discipline is essentially a non-issue, with just one suspension in three years.

The student body is 71% Black and 23% Hispanic, with small Asian, White, and Native American populations — broadly mirroring the surrounding neighborhood. The economic need index of 90 means roughly nine in ten students qualify as economically disadvantaged, and 22% have an Individualized Education Program. With just 203 students, this is one of the smaller elementary schools in District 16.

Northern Crown Heights is a renter-majority neighborhood: only 16% of households own their homes, and households with children are relatively uncommon at 11%. Median household income is around $73,859, about one in five residents lives in poverty, and 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. It's a family-dense area in some blocks despite the low household-with-children rate, and home values north of $1 million reflect how much the neighborhood has changed in the past decade.

Three subway options are within roughly a ten-minute walk: the A and C trains at Utica Avenue (about 7 minutes), the 3 and 4 trains at Crown Heights–Utica Avenue (about 10 minutes), and the C train at Kingston–Throop Avenues (about 9 minutes).