The Middle School of Media, Law and Fine Arts

The headline is the turnaround. Math proficiency has gone from 11.4% in 2016 to 59.2% in 2025 — nearly catching the district average of 61.4% — and ELA has climbed from 15.4% to 46.9%, though it still sits about 11 points below the 58.4% district mark. Science proficiency at 18.2% is a clear weak spot and worth asking about. The grade-level breakdown shows Grade 6 math lagging at 33.3% while Grades 7 and 8 perform much better, suggesting students need a runway to settle in before results show.

The surveys tell a strikingly optimistic story: 100% of teachers rate instruction quality positively, parent-principal trust is 96%, and parent satisfaction at 94% beats the district average of 93%. The caveat is sample size — only 12 teachers and 18 families responded, so treat these as signals rather than certainty. Attendance is the real concern: 88.7% daily attendance and 59.5% chronic absenteeism sit well below district norms, with Black students at 66%. Discipline is light — just 5 suspensions last year (3%), slightly above the district's ~1%, but trending down from 6 the year before.

The student body is 85% Black and 8% Hispanic, with an economic need index of 83.4 and 27% of students classified with IEPs. The demographics closely mirror East Flatbush-Rugby, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a 13.4% poverty rate and a strong Caribbean-American character. With a diversity index of 34%, the school draws a relatively homogeneous enrollment rather than a cross-section of the city.

East Flatbush-Rugby is a working- and middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood with a median household income around $71,000 and a homeownership rate just under 39% — modest by city standards. About a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 12% of households include children, so the area skews more toward adult households than family-dense blocks. The school sits within reach of the 2/3/4 train corridor running along the eastern edge of the neighborhood.

Families should plan on a real walk — the school is about 11 minutes on foot from Sutter Av-Rutland Rd (3), 14 minutes from Saratoga Av (3), and 15 minutes from Crown Hts-Utica Av (3, 4).