P.S. 290 Juan Morel Campos

The 30.8% ELA proficiency is meaningfully below the district average of about 49%, and the 42.3% math proficiency is roughly six points under the district's 48%. Math has bounced around more than ELA — hitting 51% in 2023 before sliding back to 35.3% in 2024 and recovering to 42.3% this year — while ELA has generally trended downward from a 44.8% peak in 2017. The standout: third graders post a 61.4% math proficiency, well above both the school's overall math result and the district average. By fourth and fifth grade, proficiency drops sharply — fourth-grade ELA is 28.6% and math 33.8%, fifth-grade math 37% — which suggests students hit the 'reading to learn' transition just as the school's results weaken. The 1.46/4 overall score places P.S. 290 below the district's 1.94 average.

The most striking thing here is the gap between parent and teacher perspectives. Families feel heard — 93% satisfaction, 95% parent-teacher trust, 92% parent-principal trust — all above district averages. Teachers paint a more cautious picture: only 72% rate instruction quality positively (vs. 88% district average) and just 58% express trust in the principal. Teacher-reported safety at 86% is below the 92% district norm. On the bright side, the school has logged zero suspensions for three straight years, and average daily attendance at 90.3% is slightly above district. That chronic absenteeism figure of 62.9%, though, is severe — more than six in ten students are missing enough school to be flagged — and it makes any test score harder to read honestly. The teacher survey only drew ten responses, so the staff-side numbers should be taken as a small-sample signal rather than a definitive read.

P.S. 290 reflects its neighborhood: 76% Hispanic and 17% Black, with an economic need index of 87.3% — meaning nearly nine in ten students qualify for poverty indicators. Twenty percent of students have IEPs, also notably high. What's surprising is the parent engagement underneath that: PTA fundraising runs about $50 per student, nearly three times the district average of $18.50. That signal, combined with strong survey satisfaction, suggests families who show up even when household budgets are tight. The family survey response rate of 26% is reasonable for a Title I school and indicates the 93% satisfaction number reflects a real cross-section of parents, not just a self-selecting few.

East New York (North) is a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where median household income sits around $57,800 and roughly a quarter of households live below the poverty line. Just 15.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and only 17.2% of households have children under 18 — a relatively low share for a residential area. Homeownership runs at 30%, with a median home value of about $617,000, reflecting the post-pandemic price wave that reached even this stretch of Brooklyn. The schools here serve families who are often rent-burdened but rooted in community.

The school is well-served by subway. The Van Siclen Avenue stop on the J and Z lines is about a three-minute walk, the Cleveland Street J stop is roughly six minutes away, and the Van Siclen Avenue C train is about eight minutes on foot.