Bridges: a School for Exploration and Equity, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Bridges: a School for Exploration and Equity

Bridges: A School for Exploration and Equity is a middle school serving grades six through eight in Brooklyn's Downtown area, at a point in the district where major structural shifts are reshaping school options and how students are admitted.

The school educates roughly students across a three-grade span. Its student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with substantial representation from Black students, white students, and Hispanic students, plus smaller numbers of Asian students and students of two or more races. Roughly half of the school's families qualify for free or reduced lunch, placing them below poverty thresholds. State testing data on proficiency shows strength across the grades the school serves. In grade six, roughly four in five students tested at proficient levels in both math and English language arts, with solid participation rates. Grade seven proficiency was similar in both subjects, though fewer students participated in testing that year. In grade eight, proficiency held in the high seventies in both subjects. Science testing data are not reported at the school, which reflects New York State's testing calendar and emphasis rather than a gap at Bridges itself. Grade five testing data appear in the comparison file but show no students tested, likely because the school does not serve grade five.

Against other middle schools in Kings County, Bridges ranks below the midpoint on overall proficiency when averaging across tested subjects and grade levels, a positioning that reflects the mix of students it serves and the broader academic context of Brooklyn middle schools.

The school sits in Downtown Brooklyn, a neighborhood in rapid mixed-use development with major new residential construction, extensive subway and bus transit, and proximity to cultural anchors like the Brooklyn Public Library and Prospect Park. The housing market in this zip code is expensive and appreciating. The school's admissions process, like all middle schools in District 13 since 2021, operates as a screen-free lottery with a substantial reservation of seats for students from low-income families or in temporary housing, meaning families apply without academic tests determining entry. This shift toward access was a lasting structural change meant to reduce barriers to middle school choice.

The district itself has undergone notable consolidations. In the 2020-2021 school year, two schools merged to form Arts & Letters United, a K-8 school serving the district by lottery. More recently, the Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School was truncated from a 6-12 to a 9-12 school, eliminating middle grades there. These moves have reshaped which middle-grades programs families in the district can access.

No data on staffing, school discipline, course-level program details, or specialized populations like English learners and students with disabilities were available. A parent considering this school may want to explore those dimensions and the school's specific curriculum and student support directly with the school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Science	48	88.0%
Math	30	87.0%

Math

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 53% · ▼ 53 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 58 pts below county median

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 43% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 783%

School 83% · District 52% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 31% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 63% · ▼ 63 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 62 pts below county median

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 53% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 55% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 51% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 47% · ▼ 47 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 44% · ▼ 44 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #13, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income62%Higher-income91%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income67%Higher-income82%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income90%35 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income63%Higher-income91%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income74%Higher-income88%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income91%24 pp gap