Motley
District 1515
PublicDistrict 15 →Unscreened

Sunset Park High School

153 35 Street

At a Glance

A large, unscreened Brooklyn high school where a packed program menu and zero suspensions stand out in immigrant-heavy Sunset Park

Best suited for

Families rooted in Sunset Park who want a large, unscreened high school with real program depth, ELL support, and a calm disciplinary culture — and who are comfortable being part of a working-class, immigrant-majority school community.

Overall Rating

62
Approaching
Not MeetingApproachingMeetingExceeding
4-year graduation87
English Regents 70+45
Regents completion55

Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report

Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.

How this is scored→

What stands out

  • Zero suspensions at a school of 1,369 students — a rare and concrete signal of a calm disciplinary climate
  • Program richness score of 100/100: arts, AP, ELL support, restorative justice, debate, GSA, immigration justice, and an Urban Barcode DNA science club all under one roof
  • Highly competitive for an unscreened school — 1,093 applicants for 299 seats, a 25% offer rate
  • Strong ELL and language offerings (French and Spanish) reflecting the neighborhood's linguistic mix
  • Restorative justice is built into the program list, not just a slogan — likely tied to that zero-suspension figure

Things to consider

  • Teacher collegial trust sits at 73%, well below parent satisfaction at 93% — staff culture may feel uneven even if the school feels calm from the outside
  • Average class size of 25 is at the district average, so don't expect small, seminar-style sections
  • Family survey response was only 17%, so the family-side numbers largely reflect already-engaged parents
  • Academic proficiency data was not reported — families who track test scores closely will want to ask directly on a tour
  • High economic need (86.8) means the school is serving significant poverty, which the PTA per-student figure (not reported here) and resource picture should be weighed on

Based on 2023-24 data

School SummaryDistrict 15

Within District 15, this school stands out by size alone — most of the listed peers (P.S. 172, P.S. 039, etc.) are elementary schools, so direct comparison is limited, but the high school's program breadth and oversubscribed admissions set it apart from typical neighborhood options.

Academics

Limited data

School-level proficiency data was not provided, so direct comparison to the district's 65% ELA and 63% math averages isn't possible here. What the data does show is academic infrastructure: AP courses, ELL support, a humanities track, and tutoring built into the program list — meaningful for a school serving 71% Hispanic students in a high-need neighborhood (economic need index 86.8). Average class size of 25 is a touch above the district average of about 25, so don't expect unusually small sections.

Culture

Limited data

The discipline story is the headline: zero total suspensions in the reporting year is striking for a school this large and sets a calm tone that families notice. Parent satisfaction lands at 93% — right at the district average — and parent trust in both teachers and the principal sits at 94%, strong numbers for a school where only 17% of families returned the survey (so the voices are mostly from engaged households). Among staff, principal trust is solid (83%) but collegial trust among teachers dips to 73%, which suggests teachers get along with leadership but feel a bit more divided among themselves — worth asking about on a visit.

Community

The student body mirrors the neighborhood closely: 71% Hispanic, 14% Asian, 8% White, 6% Black, with an economic need index of 86.8 signaling widespread poverty — well above the citywide average. IEPs sit at 20%, slightly above city norms, and the ELL support program is doing real work given the demographics. This is a school that looks like the Sunset Park block it sits on: working-class, immigrant-rooted, multilingual, and largely Latino.

Neighborhood

Sunset Park (West)

Sunset Park is a working-class, immigrant-heavy Brooklyn neighborhood where the median household income sits around $81,000 — modest by borough standards — and about one in five households has kids at home. The BA+ rate of 36% and homeownership near 25% point to a renter-heavy, multi-generational community with deep Latino and Asian roots. The school's location puts it right in the middle of that day-to-day rhythm, not on the edge of it.

The 36 St station on the D, N, and R lines is about a 2-minute walk from the building, with 25 St and 45 St on the R line roughly 10–11 minutes on foot — solid transit access for a Brooklyn high school.

Survey Results

Family Feedback
Satisfaction
93%
Teacher Trust
94%
Principal Trust
94%
Relationships
n/a
Teacher Perspective
Instruction
93%
Principal Trust
83%
Collegial Trust
73%
Safety
n/a

NYC School Survey (2025) · 221 families responded (17% rate)

Programs & Activities

Academic(2)
AP CoursesHumanities
Arts(5)
ArtsDanceFilm ProductionMusic ProductionPhotography
Sports(11)
BadmintonBaseballBasketballCheerleadingCheerleading. Homework Help/Tutoring. Opportunity For More Student-Led Clubs Based On Student Interest.HandballSoccerSoftballTrack/Cross CountryVolleyballWrestling
STEM(1)
Engineering
Language(3)
ELL SupportFrenchSpanish
Clubs & Activities(11)
Black Student UnionDebateGender & Sexuality Alliance (Gsa)Immigration Justice NowNational Honor SocietyRestorative JusticeSat PrepStudent CouncilUrban Barcode Club (Science-Focused Dna)VocalYearbook

Admissions Demand

Sunset Park High SchoolCompetitive

We are a college-preparatory school. Part of our mission is to ensure all students graduate within four years having choices in post-secondary educational options that best match their short and long term career goals. We are unwavering in accomplishing this in an inclusive environment undergirded by our core values of equity, community and collaboration. Learner-led inquiry learning is the way we see all students grow.

Seats299
Applicants1,093
Apps/Seat3.7
Offer Rate25%
Fill Raten/a

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Moderate
71%Hispanic/Latino
6%Black
8%White
14%Asian

NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23

Discipline

0suspensions

NYSED Student & Educator Database

Economic Need & Special Populations

Economic Need Index
86.8%
IEP Students
19.7%

How to get in, step by step

High school (9th grade)

High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Sunset Park High School admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:

  • Sunset Park High SchoolUnscreened

High school application

Opened
Tue, Oct 6
Closes
Fri, Dec 4
Offers
Wed, Mar 3

The DOE’s published dates.

  1. 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
  2. 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
  3. 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.

Open houses and tours

  • Open house

    Thu, Nov 5, · 9:00 AM · In person

From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sunset Park High School a good school?
On Motley, Sunset Park High School earns an overall rating of 62/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
What grades does Sunset Park High School serve?
Sunset Park High School serves grades 9 to 12.
How do students get into Sunset Park High School?
Sunset Park High School admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
Is Sunset Park High School public, charter, or private?
Sunset Park High School is a public school in NYC Community School District 15.
What neighborhood is Sunset Park High School in?
Sunset Park High School is in Sunset Park (West), Brooklyn.