At a Glance
A Brooklyn Catholic elementary school where faith formation, community service, and academic rigor go hand in hand for the whole child.
Best suited for
Catholic families — or families of any background seeking a values-based elementary education — who want a small, faith-centered school community in central Brooklyn and don't need a wide array of peers from different backgrounds.
What stands out
- Small enrollment of 179 students means a tight-knit community where teachers likely know every family.
- Performing arts emphasis, with dedicated theatre arts and music programs woven into the elementary experience.
- Spanish instruction begins in the elementary years — a notable offering for a parochial school at this level.
- Title 1 academic support signals a commitment to closing learning gaps and meeting varied academic needs.
- Mission-driven service orientation that frames Catholic identity around active participation in the wider community, not just classroom religion.
Things to consider
- Tuition spans a wide range ($5,450–$14,650), so the actual cost depends heavily on grade level and parish affiliation — worth clarifying directly with the school.
- Parent reviews are mixed; while families praise the safe environment and dedicated teachers, some flag concerns around how bullying is communicated and handled.
- At 179 students across seven grade levels, the school offers intimacy but also means fewer classmates, clubs, and elective choices than larger elementary programs.
- The student body is racially homogeneous (over 87% Black), which may or may not match what your family is looking for in a school community.
Identity
St. Francis of Assisi is a coed Catholic elementary school serving Pre-K through 5th grade under the Brooklyn Diocese. Its mission emphasizes formation of the whole child — spiritually, intellectually, and physically — and explicitly aims to prepare students to be active members of the Catholic community and dedicated scholars who serve all of society.
Community
The student body is largely Black (87.2%) with a smaller Hispanic population (11.7%) and very little racial diversity beyond those two groups. With a diversity index of 0.38, this is a demographically homogeneous community that mirrors the surrounding neighborhood rather than drawing widely from across the city.
Neighborhood
The school sits in Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate, a central Brooklyn residential pocket where the median household income is around $73,000 and about 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Roughly 16% of neighborhood residents live below the poverty line, a middle-class block with real economic mix. The area is primarily residential brownstones and prewar apartment buildings with a strong neighborhood feel.
Sterling St (2 5) is about a 3-minute walk away, with Winthrop St (2 5) roughly 7 minutes and President St–Medgar Evers College (2 5) about 10 minutes on foot — solid subway access on the Eastern Parkway line.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Mixed reviews; positive feedback on a safe environment, dedicated teachers, and academic standards; some concerns about bullying communication; ratings of 4.06 and 5.0
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate.
- What grades does ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA serve?
- ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA?
- ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA public, charter, or private?
- ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA is a private school.
- What neighborhood is ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA in?
- ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC ACA is in Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate, Brooklyn.