Original Research by School Decision on Brooklyn Rise Charter School
Brooklyn Rise Charter School is a small, early-childhood-focused district serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Kings County. The school currently enrolls a relatively small population of students across its six grade levels, distributed fairly evenly, with slightly larger cohorts in the upper elementary grades.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with meaningful representation of Asian and Black students and a smaller number of white students. The enrollment data provided does not include counts for free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learner status, so a parent wanting to understand the economic profile of the student population or the precise share of students receiving specialized services would need to reach out to the school directly. The school's public-facing materials note that it serves a high share of English Language Learners and students with Individualized Education Programs as part of its core model, and the two-teacher-per-classroom design is positioned as supporting that mission.
The school's defining pedagogical feature is its inclusion-based approach with two teachers in every classroom. The model centers on serving students with diverse learning needs within regular classrooms rather than in separate settings. This includes in-house special education support, a multi-language learner coordinator, and a behavior specialist on staff. For families drawn to small classes, co-teaching, and an integration-focused rather than pullout model of special services, this is a core strength worth understanding closely.
A significant structural change is underway. Publicly reported, the school received a five-year charter renewal running through mid-2029 and approval to expand from kindergarten through fifth grade to include middle grades through eighth grade, with corresponding enrollment growth. This means a family enrolling a kindergartner now could keep that child through eighth grade without needing to transfer to a new middle school, a stability many families value. The school is simultaneously relocating: it moved from Sunset Park to Downtown Brooklyn in 2022 due to co-location conflicts, and is now planning to build a new permanent facility in Sunset Park with completion expected in early 2027. This represents a significant change in commute and location for current and future families, and the planned return to Sunset Park has drawn community opposition, so a parent considering enrollment should understand the transition timeline and local context.
State testing data and proficiency results are not available in the payload provided, so what the school's academic performance looks like on standardized measures cannot be characterized here. A parent evaluating academic outcomes should ask the school directly for recent assessment data and talk with current families about their experience with instruction and student progress.
Among the hundred districts in Kings County, Brooklyn Rise's chronic absenteeism rate sits below the county's median, a relatively positive indicator. The school's per-pupil spending is in the upper range for the county, reflecting the resource-intensive two-teacher model and specialized staffing.
This is a school for families drawn to small size, inclusion pedagogy, multilingual support, and integrated special education, with the understanding that a major physical relocation is planned within the next year or so and that the grade span will expand over the coming years.
See more original research from School Decision →