The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in English language arts. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ps 241 Emma L Johnston
PS 241 Emma L. Johnston sits on President Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public elementary school within New York City Geographic District 17, a district that covers a stretch of central Brooklyn encompassing Crown Heights, Flatbush, and neighboring blocks.
The school's academic results on the New York State assessments are genuinely strong in the earlier tested grades and softer by fifth grade, a pattern worth understanding clearly. In third grade, the large majority of students tested reached proficiency in both math and English language arts, results that place the school well above most of its peers relative to districts in Kings County. Fourth grade proficiency remains solid in both subjects. Fifth grade shows a meaningful drop, particularly in math and more so in science, where roughly half or fewer students tested as proficient. Whether that reflects a particular cohort, a transition in content difficulty, or something else is worth raising directly with the school. The proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades puts PS 241 in the top quartile relative to districts in Kings County, which is a meaningful position in a county with over a hundred districts in the comparison set. Social studies testing data is available only from a much earlier school year and is not current enough to be useful here.
Participation in state testing runs very high across tested grades, which means the results are not shaped by selective opt-outs.
The school's enrollment is modest for a full pre-K through fifth grade building. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding neighborhood. The student population is predominantly Black, with Hispanic and white students each making up smaller shares and other groups present in smaller numbers. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in the data provided; a parent whose child falls into either category should ask the school directly about services and staffing.
District 17 has undergone several changes that bear watching. Beginning in the fall of 2024, the citywide NYC Reads mandate shifted all elementary schools, including those in District 17, to one of three approved reading curricula chosen by the local superintendent. The approach centers on phonics and the science of reading, replacing a prior system in which individual principals chose their own materials. This affects how PS 241's students are being taught to read starting now. Separately, a state law passed in 2022 requires New York City to phase in smaller class-size caps by the 2027-28 school year, with the smallest caps applying to the K through third grade range. District 17 has also seen a sustained multi-year enrollment decline driven by population loss, which has left a meaningful number of excess seats across the district and prompted school re-sitings and co-locations elsewhere in the district. Families considering PS 241 may want to ask whether enrollment trends at the school itself have been stable or shifting.
The surrounding neighborhood is walkable and well connected. Crown Heights sits within Brooklyn's dense transit network, with multiple subway lines nearby, and daily needs are reachable on foot. Prospect Park is close. The broader Brooklyn housing market in this zip code sits well above both the state and national median home values and has appreciated over the past year, and rents similarly sit at a premium. That context shapes what families relocating to be near the school should expect.
No program offerings data was available for PS 241, so specific enrichment, arts, or after-school programs could not be described here. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data do not apply, the first because absenteeism figures were not available, the second because this school does not serve high school grades.
For a family with a young child in Crown Heights looking for a neighborhood public school with strong early-grade academic results, PS 241 performs at a level that stands out within the county. The softer fifth-grade results and the open questions about services for students with disabilities or language needs are the areas where a parent would benefit from a direct conversation with the school.
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