The School of Integrated Learning

This is one of the stronger middle schools in the district by the numbers. The school's 69.8% ELA proficiency and 64.9% math proficiency both sit meaningfully above the District 17 averages of roughly 60.5% and 57.3%, and the overall quality score of 2.76/4 outpaces the district average of 2.36. The trajectory matters even more than the snapshot: ELA proficiency has climbed from 35.7% in 2016 to 69.8% in 2025, and math has jumped from 32.1% to 64.9% over the same period, with a particularly sharp rise since 2022. The 8th-grade ELA rate of 79.6% is the strongest of any grade band, which suggests students leave here well-prepared for high school. Honors/accelerated coursework and dedicated Living Environment and Algebra I Regents prep show the school is actively pushing kids toward the next rung, including specialized high school admissions.

The day-to-day feel here, at least according to the adults in the building, is unusually positive. Teacher-principal trust is at 99%, parent-principal trust at 97%, parent satisfaction at 96%, and parent-teacher trust at 98% — all well above the District 17 averages of 89% and 91%. Teachers rate the quality of instruction at 98%, which is extraordinary, though only 20 teachers responded, so read that with a small grain of salt. Discipline is mild but not invisible: 5 suspensions last year (2% rate) is higher than the district average of about 0.55%, though the three-year trend shows suspensions bouncing between 1 and 5, not spiraling. The harder number is the 65% chronic absenteeism rate — nearly two-thirds of students are missing enough school to be flagged — even though overall attendance is 89.9%. That's the part of the climate story that matters most: the school feels warm and trusted, but a lot of kids aren't physically here consistently enough to fully benefit.

The student body is 78% Black and 17% Hispanic, with a diversity index of 37% — relatively low, meaning most students share a similar background. About a quarter of students have IEPs, the economic need index is 80.3 (high), and the school offers ELL support, so this is a place serving a wide range of learners. The surrounding Crown Heights neighborhood census tells a somewhat different story: 42.4% of nearby adults hold a bachelor's degree, the median household income is $73,859, and homeownership is just 16.4% — a renter-heavy, family-adjacent area where roughly 11% of households include children. The gap between the school's demographic profile and the neighborhood's educational attainment suggests this screened school draws well beyond its immediate blocks.

Crown Heights (North) is a dense, largely renter neighborhood where about 11% of households include children, median household income sits around $73,859, and 42.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The poverty rate of 20.2% and 16.4% homeownership rate point to a working- and middle-class community where families often rent, and the $1.04 million median home value reflects the broader Brooklyn market pressure even in blocks where many residents don't own. The School of Integrated Learning sits within this neighborhood, serving families who navigate a mix of brownstones, apartment buildings, and the commercial corridors along Eastern Parkway and Nostrand.

Three subway options are within a 7-to-12-minute walk: the 3 train at Kingston Av (about 7 minutes), the 3 and 4 trains at Crown Hts-Utica Av (about 7 minutes), and the C train at Kingston-Throop Avs (about 12 minutes). That's solid coverage for a middle school commute from anywhere in central Brooklyn.