Ps 94 Henry Longfellow (the), Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 94 Henry Longfellow (the)

PS 94 Henry Longfellow is a public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Asian, with a substantial Hispanic population and very limited white enrollment. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhood.

The school's academic results are mixed across subjects and grade levels. In math, third grade shows the strongest performance, while results decline as students progress through upper elementary grades. By fifth grade, fewer than three in five students score at proficiency. In English language arts, performance is below math across all tested grades, with third grade again strongest and fifth grade roughly at parity with math. Science proficiency in fifth grade falls notably lower than both math and English, affecting fewer than half of tested students. Test participation rates are generally high, suggesting that these results reflect actual classroom achievement rather than absence from assessment.

The school is positioned above the median among elementary schools across Kings County, and appears to serve as a neighborhood school rather than a selective or themed program. It is one of several elementary schools in District 15, which has recently undertaken significant rezoning and diversity initiatives. In 2022 the district eliminated academic screens from its middle schools in favor of a lottery system with priority for low-income students and English learners, a shift that affected how families plan their trajectory from elementary through middle grades. As of 2025 the district is reconsidering elementary attendance zones themselves, with proposals to either redraw boundaries around overcrowded schools or move to a districtwide lottery, changes that could directly affect which school an address is zoned to attend. A parent may want to look into the current status of these proposals with the school and district, since they could reshape the elementary admissions landscape for Sunset Park.

The neighborhood around the school is actively changing. Sunset Park itself is known for dense residential blocks mixed with bustling retail corridors along Fifth and Eighth Avenues. Brooklyn as a whole has seen strong housing growth, particularly in recent years, with new residential construction across multiple neighborhoods. Home values in the area are substantial and rising, and rental costs have been climbing as well, reflecting Brooklyn's position as a high-demand market across most neighborhoods.

The school is embedded in a dense, walkable urban setting with extensive transit access. Families here are not choosing isolation or a car-dependent lifestyle; they are choosing urban density, public transportation, and mixed-income, immigrant-heavy neighborhoods where children walk to school and the street life supports retail and restaurant life alongside residential blocks. PS 94 serves that context directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 73% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 70% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 68% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 71% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 70% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 69% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 58% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 581%

School 81% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #15, 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

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income66%Higher-income100%34 pp gap