P.S. 54 The Detective Rafael Ramos School

After years of brutal swings — single-digit proficiency in the late 2010s, a post-pandemic crash to 11.3% ELA in 2022, then a sharp climb — PS 54's 2025 scores of 54.1% ELA and 43.6% math land it essentially at the District 13 average (53.1% and 45.9% respectively). The recent trajectory is genuinely improving: ELA rose from 18.5% in 2023 to 54.1% in 2025, and math has held around 40% for two years running. That said, this is a school whose state test results have yo-yoed for nearly a decade, and a single year of strong scores after that history deserves a cautious read. Fifth-grade ELA at 56.3% is solid; fifth-grade math at 37.5% lags.

Day to day, PS 54 reports the kind of climate many Brooklyn parents wish every school had: zero suspensions for three straight years, 100% of surveyed teachers rating their school as safe, and parent-principal trust at 94%. Teacher-reported instruction quality hit 100%, well above the district's 88%. The picture complicates quickly, though — chronic absenteeism sits at 46.5%, meaning nearly half of students miss enough school to be flagged, and the overall attendance rate of 85.2% trails the district by four points. The teacher survey drew only 7 respondents and the family survey just 37 (22% response rate), so the perfect climate scores should be weighed with some caution.

The student body is 52% Black and 35% Hispanic, with a diversity index of 62% and an economic need index of 80 — well above the citywide median. Roughly one in five students (22%) has an IEP, a notably high share. The neighborhood mix shows up clearly in the school: a community where 27.9% of households live in poverty sits right next to one where 48.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. PTA fundraising last year totaled just $4 per student, compared to a district average of $438, signaling limited capacity for parent-driven extras.

Bedford-Stuyvesant (West) is a historically Black neighborhood that has seen significant gentrification over the past two decades, with a median home value over $1.2 million reflecting that shift. Median household income of $77,685 sits above the citywide norm, but the 27.9% poverty rate and just 15.7% of households with children show that the family demographic is thinner here than in many Brooklyn neighborhoods. Getting to school is straightforward on the G train.

Three G train stops serve the school: Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Myrtle-Willoughby Avenues are each about a five-minute walk away, with Flushing Avenue about a twelve-minute walk to the south.