At a Glance
A small zoned Bushwick elementary where families show up for each other and test scores are climbing fast.
Best suited for
Zoned families in East Bushwick who want a small, parent-engaged neighborhood school and are willing to ask direct questions about staff climate and attendance follow-through before enrolling.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Three straight years with zero suspensions — an unusually peaceful climate for an elementary school
- Parent trust ratings among the highest in the district: 98% parent-teacher and 94% parent-principal
- Strong recent academic turnaround — ELA proficiency more than doubled since 2022
- Small enrollment of 210 students means most families know staff personally
- PTA fundraising of $19 per student runs above the district average of about $17
- 5th grade ELA proficiency of 62.2% suggests the school builds skills as kids progress
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism is high at 60.2% — ask how the school follows up when students miss school
- Teacher-principal trust sits at 63%, well below district norms — staff morale is worth asking about
- Only 78% of teachers rate instruction quality positively, below the 86% district average
- Teacher-reported safety (88%) trails the district's 95.8% — worth a direct question on what staff mean by it
- Family survey response rate is just 9% (18 responses), so parent satisfaction numbers are based on a small slice of families
- Class size of about 21 is average, not small — don't expect intimate class sizes despite the small school
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 32
Within District 32, P.S. 299 sits comfortably in the middle of the pack. Its 1.87/4 overall score edges out the district average of 1.78/4, and both ELA and math proficiency are above district norms. The nearby peer schools listed run a wide range — from Success Academy Bushwick at 96/100 down to Achievement First Bushwick at 63/100 — so P.S. 299 is a solid zoned option that outperforms several local charters on raw proficiency.
Academics
P.S. 299 is now above district averages in both subjects, with 49.5% ELA proficiency versus the district's 45.9% and 44.1% in math versus 43.2%. The real story is the trajectory: as recently as 2022, fewer than one in five students met ELA standards. The school has roughly doubled that figure in three years, and math proficiency has nearly tripled from the 2022 low of 15.9%. By 5th grade, 62.2% of students are proficient in ELA — suggesting the gains compound as kids move through the school.
Culture
Families and staff tell very different stories here. Parents are enthusiastic: 95% are satisfied, 98% trust their child's teacher, and 94% trust the principal — all above district averages. Teachers are more guarded: only 78% rate instruction quality positively (below the district's 86%) and just 63% trust the principal, while 88% feel safe (versus a district average of nearly 96%). The school has had zero suspensions for three straight years, which speaks to how conflicts get handled in the building. Attendance is right at the district average (90.8%), but chronic absenteeism is very high at 60.2%, with Hispanic students (69.1%) and girls (65%) missing school most often — worth asking the school about directly.
Community
The student body is 57% Hispanic, 37% Black, and 6% White, closely reflecting the surrounding neighborhood where most residents identify the same way. Nearly all students qualify for free lunch based on the 90.2 economic need index, and 16% have IEPs. Total enrollment is just 210, so most families end up knowing each other and the staff personally.
Neighborhood
East Bushwick is a working-class, renter-majority corner of Brooklyn where median household income is around $67,000 and roughly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. About 12% of households include children, a third of adults have a bachelor's degree, and only one in five residents own their home. Median home values near $950,000 reflect how dramatically prices have risen even in a neighborhood where most families rent.
Most families reach P.S. 299 on foot. The closest subway is the Gates Av stop on the J and Z lines, about a five-minute walk away. The Halsey St station on the J is around seven minutes on foot, and the Knickerbocker Av station on the M is roughly a twelve-minute walk.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 18 families responded (9% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field earns an overall rating of 47/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run in line with the District 32 average.
- What grades does P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field serve?
- P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field?
- P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field is a public school in NYC Community School District 32.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field in?
- P.S. 299 Thomas Warren Field is in Bushwick (East), Brooklyn.