Best Public Grade Schools in BK?
I know about insideschools.org. I know about the 3 or 4 good Public Schools in Park Slope. I know about Brooklyn Heights but other than that where are the good public grade schools in Brooklyn? Can someone with knowledge help me cut through the BS and let me know which hoods to narrow my search…
I know about insideschools.org. I know about the 3 or 4 good Public Schools in Park Slope. I know about Brooklyn Heights but other than that where are the good public grade schools in Brooklyn? Can someone with knowledge help me cut through the BS and let me know which hoods to narrow my search to?! Thanks!
We have come a long way in HS quality. I am not sure there is one best but there are “best in area” Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Beacon, Laguardia, Midwood HS, Telecommunication Arts in Bay Ridge, Bard Early College, Townsend Harris, Cardoza, NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies, Bronx Academy of Letters.
It to some degree depends on how your defining “best”.
Architerrorist:
Bay Academy is now closed to out of district students, but Mark Twain is still citywide admissions.
I sent three kids through PS 321, and, with a few hiccups here and there, I have to say it was an excellent experience. One of my children attended MS 51, and I have to agree, it is terribly overrated. Yes, a lot of kids really do love the “talent” programs there, but the academics leave a lot to be desired, and, of course, the facility itself is dismal. Another child did not get into her top 3 MS choices, and ended up at Collaborative. It is sub-par, at best. Another child, with special needs, attended New Horizons. it was actually a great experience – he really excelled and transitioned into a very good mainstream Manhattan HS. That said, he did work extremely hard and made the most of his situation.
Anyone looking for a good primary school should keep their eyes open with respect to district MS options as well. Do you really want your 6th grader commuting 1 1/2 hours each way to MS? Also, from what I’ve been told, schools that previously accepted children borough-wide, will now only be accepting kids within district. This includes Twain, one of the top MS choices in the city, and Bay Academy as well (an easy commute for DP families).
HS is another kettle of fish – kids are old enough to commute and there are many good options. Best in the city? Hunter, Bard and Stuy, IMO.
Bay Ridge may well offer the best options for families planning to go public for the long haul.
Miss Muffet, glad to hear of the good options in Park Slope.
i disagree, 261 and 58 officially do not take out of zone kids (and really don’t for pre-K), but unofficially they do for K and up. So, if the excrement blows widely from 29, there is room in both those schools.
For the OP, pre-K is a separate deal. The UPK (“universal” pre-kidergarten) program is run independently of the elementary schools they are in, and they are usually all pretty high quality. So, an iffy elementary school can have a great pre-K. Pre-K admissions are also run separately — or the Board of Ed is trying to run them separately — and at present admission to a “hot” school’s pre-K is no guarantee of ongoing attendance at said school, unless you are in-zone or a sibling.
I hope and trust this is all sufficiently confusing. 🙂
Middle schools in Bay Ridge also do pretty well. I also hear good reviews from the parents that have their children there.
In FG/Clinton Hill, PS 11 and Community Roots are both good. Although she hasn’t been in place for very long, PS 46 has a new principal who is said to be terrific. PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights is excellent, though it has gotten so crowded that it rarely has room for students who are not zoned for it (Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO).
The real problem in District 13 is middle school. Arts and Letters, which shares a building with PS 20, is a well-regarded new school–but last year they had 1,000 applicants for 80 places. MS 113 is said by some to be good, but I don’t think they have a great track record with placing students in the top-tier high schools, with the exception of LaGuardia: 113 is deservedly proud of its selective arts program. The new gifted school at PS 20 does not have a middle school component. While several of its elementary schools have improved in recent years, District 13 still badly needs selective, first-rate middle schools. I hope this will change in the next few years.
I agree with wine lover (for once, heh) — Williamsburg schools are underrated and uncrowded. I am bullish on them.
Is the new G&T at PS 20 in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene going to include a middle school?
And does anyone know anything about the G&T middle school in Bushwick?
Mopar, cheese shops, you are teh win. And, sadly or not, that’s pretty damn accurate.
My kids went to 261 and it was fine. The diversity (no group is a majority) and faculty are great but the test scores are lower than 29 and 321 and test prep regime was a drag.
This may have changed, but zoned schools did not have to enroll all comers in kindergarten, which is considered optional, but they used to have to take first grade and up if you lived in the zone. Anyone know if that’s still true?
i have been told by parents of out-of-zone kids at 261 and 58 that they are not accepting any more OOZ kids unless they’re siblings (and even then, maybe not). would be happy to find out that this is wrong info.