Ps 86 Irvington (the), Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 86 Irvington (the)

PS 86 Irvington serves a small elementary school population in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, drawing nearly all its students from families with significant economic need. The school operates within New York City Geographic District 32, an elementary district whose schools recently came under the NYC Reads curriculum mandate, meaning all of them now use the same approved reading program rather than choosing their own materials.

The enrollment is stable at around a few hundred students across kindergarten through fifth grade, distributed fairly evenly across grades. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school's population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on the school's special education enrollment and English learner population was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.

On state assessments administered in spring of 2025, PS 86's proficiency rates show a profile that dips notably in fourth grade and recovers somewhat by fifth. In third-grade math and English language arts, proficiency hovered in the mid-range, while fourth grade saw a significant drop in both subjects, with math proficiency falling to under one-quarter of students tested. Fifth grade rebounded in English language arts to just above half of students meeting the state standard, and math and science proficiency in that grade landed near half. Overall across tested grades and subjects, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the county's elementary districts.

The performance pattern, particularly the fourth-grade dip, is a concrete feature a parent may want to explore with the school. This could reflect grade-level transitions, changes in student cohorts, staffing shifts, or the implementation demands of the new literacy curriculum. The school began using the Into Reading basal program under the NYC Reads mandate in 2023-24, and understanding how that transition has affected instruction and outcomes would be worth discussing.

Brooklyn itself is a dense, highly walkable borough with active neighborhood life, strong transit access, and major civic anchors including Prospect Park and an extensive library system. The Williamsburg area where the school is located combines residential blocks with bustling commercial and cultural districts. Housing values and rents in the zipcode are substantial, though many families in the school's catchment appear to rent rather than own. The broader neighborhood is in active growth, with new residential construction reshaping blocks.

PS 86 is a regular public school with no specialized admissions or magnet program; it draws from its neighborhood attendance zone. A parent considering this school is weighing a small, neighborhood-embedded elementary in a high-need community with recent curriculum changes and uneven recent testing results. For families committed to the neighborhood or seeking proximity and walkability, the school's actual classroom experience, teacher stability, and how it supports its multilingual, low-income population would be key things to assess through visits and conversations with current families.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 50% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 40% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 40% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 40% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 35% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 45% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 32% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 568%

School 68% · district not reported

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #32, 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.