The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Math. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on New York City Geographic District #19
NYC Geographic District 19 serves a large swath of Brooklyn spanning pre-K through grade 12, with enrollment distributed across elementary, middle, and high schools. The student body is majority Latino and Black, reflecting the neighborhoods of East New York, Cypress Hills, Brownsville, Canarsie, and surrounding areas in south and central Brooklyn.
On state assessments, District 19's proficiency rates run below the midpoint among Kings County's school districts. In mathematics, proficiency in grades 3 through 5 hovers in the low-to-mid range, then drops sharply at grade 6 and remains depressed through grade 8. English language arts shows a similar pattern: grades 3 and 5 perform at roughly half proficiency, while grade 4 falls below that, and grades 6 through 8 plateau around or below the low-to-mid range. Science proficiency in both grade 5 and grade 8 sits around one-third. The overall proficiency index places the district in the bottom quartile of the county. These results suggest students face cumulative challenges as they progress, particularly in the transition to middle school. A parent may want to look into the schools themselves to understand how they are supporting students through these transitions and addressing proficiency gaps.
Recent curricular changes have aimed to strengthen literacy instruction. The district adopted Wit & Wisdom, a research-aligned reading program, beginning in the 2023-2024 school year across its elementary schools. This replaced a prior model that gave individual principals more flexibility in choosing materials. The new curriculum is based on cognitive science principles and uses carefully sequenced texts.
On the high school front, the district gained a notable new pathway: Bard High School Early College-Brooklyn opened for the 2024-2025 school year in East New York and offers students the chance to earn an associate degree and college credits before graduating from high school. For a community the city identifies as having faced longstanding barriers to college access, this free accelerated option represents a significant shift in upper secondary opportunity.
Chronic absenteeism is tracked as a concern; the district's rate sits below the median for the county, but still substantial enough to warrant attention from families considering enrollment.
The district's enrollment landscape has also shifted. An increasing share of district residents have begun choosing charter schools, and the percentage of middle school-age residents actually enrolling in District 19's own middle schools has declined. For families considering schools in this area, this changing enrollment profile may affect available seats, program variety, and school stability from year to year. The district operates nearly 50 schools ranging from traditional public elementaries to specialized and theme-based schools, several of them newer or reconfigured to emphasize career and technical education, arts, or specialized pathways.
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