At a Glance
A program-rich middle school in Sunset Park where parent engagement runs deep but test scores trail district peers
Best suited for
Families who want a wide range of programs and culturally responsive support for Hispanic and ELL students, and who prioritize a strong parent-school partnership over top-tier academic outcomes.
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
- Perfect 100/100 program richness score — an unusually deep menu of arts, STEM, and extracurriculars for a middle school
- Parent trust in both teachers and principal reaches 98%, far above most NYC middle schools
- Culturally responsive offerings like La Esquina (Latinx Student Union) and ELL Support reflect the surrounding community
- A wide arts and sports lineup spanning drama, theater, studio art, cross country, track, and the Patriots Running Club
Things to consider
- Test scores trail district averages by roughly 25 percentage points in both ELA and math
- Chronic absenteeism at 72% is well above typical NYC middle school levels
- Teacher-reported instruction quality (79%) and principal trust (72%) lag district averages
- PTA fundraising is minimal at roughly $2 per student, far below the $491 district average
- Suspensions are trending upward, from 0 in 2021-22 to 6 in 2023-24, though the total remains small
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 15
Within District 15 — home to some of Brooklyn's strongest middle schools — Sunset Park Prep sits well below peers. Its overall score of 1.58/4 trails the district average of 2.58, and top district schools pair much higher academic performance with similarly deep programming.
Academics
Both ELA (38.3%) and math (40.6%) proficiency sit roughly 25 percentage points below District 15 averages of about 65% and 63%. Scores dipped sharply in 2022 — almost certainly a pandemic-recovery artifact — but have since stabilized in the high 30s and low 40s, returning to roughly where they were in the late 2010s. The trajectory over the past three years is essentially flat: the school has recovered from the dip but is not yet climbing above its pre-pandemic baseline.
Culture
Day-to-day, this looks like a school where parents feel deeply heard — trust in teachers and the principal both land at 98%, and parent satisfaction is 96%. The flip side is the teacher-side signal: only 79% rate instruction quality positively and just 72% trust school leadership, both meaningfully below district averages. Chronic absenteeism at 72% is a serious concern, even though the 92.4% attendance rate sits close to district norms. Discipline is light overall, but suspensions have crept up from 0 to 6 over the past three years.
Community
Eighty-one percent of students identify as Hispanic, with smaller Asian (9%), White (6%), and Black (2%) populations — a mirror of Sunset Park's longtime immigrant character. The economic need index of 84 reflects a largely low-income student body, and 28% of students have IEPs. Programs like ELL Support and La Esquina (Latinx Student Union) signal a culturally responsive approach to a community where Spanish is widely spoken at home.
Neighborhood
Sunset Park is a Brooklyn neighborhood with deep immigrant roots and a working-class backbone — median household income sits at about $81,000 and roughly one in five households includes children. Homeownership is low at 25%, reflecting a renter-majority community with many immigrant and multi-generational households, while about 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Median home values above $1 million hint at how much the area has shifted around its longtime residents.
Families can reach the school via the R at 45 St or the D/N/R at 36 St, both about a 6-minute walk, with the R at 53 St a 12-minute walk.
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) · 160 families responded (42% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. Sunset Park Prep admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Sunset Park PreparatoryUnscreened144 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Compare head-to-head
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Sunset Park Prep a good school?
- On Motley, Sunset Park Prep earns an overall rating of 40/100 — 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 below the District 15 average.
- What grades does Sunset Park Prep serve?
- Sunset Park Prep serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into Sunset Park Prep?
- Sunset Park Prep admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is Sunset Park Prep public, charter, or private?
- Sunset Park Prep is a public school in NYC Community School District 15.
- What neighborhood is Sunset Park Prep in?
- Sunset Park Prep is in Sunset Park (West), Brooklyn.