At a Glance
A nonsectarian progressive school where the arts are central and grades don't exist
Best suited for
Families — often dual-career, arts-engaged, or intellectually progressive — who want a small-class, no-grades environment with deep arts integration and can shoulder tuition at the higher end of the Brooklyn private school range. Particularly strong fit for families who actively want their child to be assessed through teacher narrative rather than report cards, and who are comfortable with a Brooklyn Heights commute.
What stands out
- 5.4:1 student-teacher ratio — unusually low for a school of this size, meaning classes are small and teachers have real bandwidth for individualized work
- No grades, class rankings, or prizes through the program — instead, ongoing written teacher reports and dialogue
- Arts (music, theater, and visual work) treated as an 'essential' part of the curriculum rather than an elective
- Nonsectarian despite the 'Saint' in the name — a deliberate progressive identity that surprises some visitors
- Three distinct subway lines within a four-minute walk, giving families real flexibility on the daily commute
Things to consider
- Tuition sits at $51,650 for 2025-2026, near the upper end of Brooklyn private school pricing
- Parent reviews are mixed — families consistently praise the academics and arts, but some raise concerns about school culture and the social environment
- Application deadlines vary by division — Lower School (September 25), Middle School (December 1), and High School (November 20) — so families navigating multiple tracks need to track separate calendars
- The no-grades philosophy is a real fit question: it suits kids and parents who are comfortable with assessment through long-form teacher narrative rather than report cards, and may feel disorienting to those who aren't
- Student body skews majority white relative to NYC overall, though the multiracial share is sizable and the overall diversity index is moderate
Identity
Independent, nonsectarian, progressive. Despite the 'Saint' in its name, the school has no religious affiliation and instead centers its identity on intellectual exploration, artistic expression, and a deliberate de-emphasis of traditional academic metrics like grades and prizes.
Community
A large-but-personal school community of about 1,040 students taught by roughly 194 FTE teachers — a staffing level that supports genuinely small class sizes. The student body is majority white at 59%, with representation across Asian (4.6%), Black (8.5%), Hispanic (8%), and a notably large multiracial or other category (19.8%).
Neighborhood
The school sits in Brooklyn Heights, a brownstone-lined Brooklyn neighborhood with very high household incomes (median around $178,617) and a deeply college-educated population, with more than 85% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. The poverty rate in the surrounding area is low, around 4.4%.
Three subway stations sit within roughly a 4-minute walk. The Court Street R stop is closest at about 2 minutes, with Clark Street (2 and 3) and Borough Hall (2 and 3) each about 4 minutes away, making for short commutes from much of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Mixed reviews; praised for excellent arts and English programs, great teachers, no-grades policy promoting love of learning; some concerns about school culture and social environment
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Brooklyn Heights.
- What grades does SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL serve?
- SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL?
- SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL public, charter, or private?
- SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL is a private school.
- What neighborhood is SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL in?
- SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL is in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn.