At a Glance
A Brownsville elementary on a dramatic academic upswing, where families and teachers genuinely trust one another.
Best suited for
Families rooted in Brownsville who want rising results, a no-suspension culture, and a school where teachers and parents actually know each other — and who can make daily attendance a priority.
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
- One of the steepest academic turnarounds in District 23, with both ELA and math now above district averages after years well below.
- Zero suspensions and 93% teacher-reported safety — a notably calm environment.
- Rare parent-teacher trust levels (93%) and 96% of families report strong relationships.
- Grade 3 proficiency of 83.9% in both ELA and math shows the early grades are humming.
- High teacher self-rating of instruction quality at 98%.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at nearly 60% is a real headwind — gains on paper mean less if many kids aren't in the room consistently.
- Test gains are recent and Grade 5 results still trail Grade 3, so the trajectory is still being proven over time.
- Program offerings are thin — ELL support is essentially the only named special program, and program breadth is limited.
- The surrounding neighborhood carries significant economic hardship, which can mean families need more from the school than academics alone.
- Class size is average for the district, so don't expect unusually small cohorts.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 23
With an overall score of 2.37/4 versus the district average of 2.06, 323 outperforms most District 23 elementary schools, though it doesn't appear among the current top-ranked peers in recent listings.
Academics
The turnaround at 323 is one of the more dramatic in District 23. ELA proficiency climbed from 20.9% in 2016 to 61.2% in 2025, and math rose from 16.7% to 57.4% — both now above district averages of 52.2% and 50.5%. The big jump came between 2024 and 2025, with math gaining roughly 13 points in a single year. Grade 3 results are particularly strong at 83.9% in both subjects, though scores dip in Grade 4 (around 60%) and again in Grade 5 (45% ELA, 37% math), suggesting the gains are real but still building deeper into the school.
Culture
Despite a chronic absenteeism rate of 59.8% — significantly elevated — the school reads as warm and relational. Parent-teacher trust is 93%, strong relationships are reported by 96% of families, and 98% of teachers rate their own instruction quality positively. Teacher-reported safety sits at 93%, and there were zero suspensions in 2023-24, continuing a low-discipline trend. The day-to-day feel seems calm and connected, but getting kids through the door every day is clearly the school's biggest operational challenge.
Community
About 522 students attend 323, with an average class size of 19.7. The student body is 76% Black and 21% Hispanic, closely mirroring Brownsville's demographics. The economic need index of 93.3% reflects the deep poverty of the surrounding area, and 19% of students have IEPs. English-language-learner services are offered, though only a small share of students qualify — the school's linguistic diversity is limited compared to its racial diversity.
Neighborhood
Brownsville is one of Brooklyn's most working-class neighborhoods — median household income is $33,494 and 37.6% of residents live below the poverty line. Homeownership is just 14.2%, meaning most families rent, and only 13.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. It's a community where many households are stretched thin but rooted, and where the local elementary school is a real anchor.
The 3 train is your line — Rockaway Av is about a 6-minute walk, Saratoga Av about 9 minutes, and Junius St about 11 minutes.
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) · 144 families responded (53% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S./I.S. 323 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
District 23 is a school-choice district, so it has no elementary zones: no address guarantees a seat at P.S./I.S. 323. Families across the district apply on MySchools, and seats go to priority groups first (siblings, then families in the district), then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank every school you'd accept, in true preference order — with no zoned seat to fall back on, a longer list matters.
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./I.S. 323 a good school?
- On Motley, P.S./I.S. 323 earns an overall rating of 59/100 — 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 above the District 23 average.
- What grades does P.S./I.S. 323 serve?
- P.S./I.S. 323 serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S./I.S. 323?
- P.S./I.S. 323 admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is P.S./I.S. 323 public, charter, or private?
- P.S./I.S. 323 is a public school in NYC Community School District 23.
- What neighborhood is P.S./I.S. 323 in?
- P.S./I.S. 323 is in Brownsville, Brooklyn.