John Ericsson Middle School 126, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on John Ericsson Middle School 126

John Ericsson Middle School 126 is a small public middle school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serving grades six through eight. The school's enrollment is modest, with students distributed across the three grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with meaningful representation of Black students and smaller numbers of Asian and white students.

The school's academic performance shows mixed results across tested subjects. In mathematics, sixth-grade proficiency is below where it rises in seventh and eighth grades, which perform closer to the midpoint. English language arts shows similar patterns: sixth grade starts lower, while seventh and eighth grades perform comparably to math, with reading proficiency in the low-to-mid range. Eighth-grade science proficiency edges slightly higher than the other subjects. Across the tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint among the county's middle schools, a gap families would want to understand further through direct conversation with the school about academic support and instructional focus.

The school operates as a regular public school in New York City Geographic District 14, which covers Williamsburg and Greenpoint. District 14 has experienced substantial enrollment declines over the past several years, a trend that has driven consolidations and school mergers across Brooklyn. Families in the district currently have access to middle school enrollment through a lottery system rather than selective admissions screens, a change the city implemented citywide in 2021. Additionally, the state has mandated that NYC schools phase in smaller class-size caps over the coming years, including a maximum of twenty-three students per class in grades four through eight, a shift that will unfold through the late 2020s.

Williamsburg itself is part of Brooklyn's active, dense urban fabric. The neighborhood blends residential streets with commercial corridors, retail, dining, and arts venues. Transit is extensive, with subway lines and bus routes providing broad connectivity. Walk Score rates Brooklyn among the most walkable places in the nation. The broader borough is in significant growth and development, with substantial new residential construction ongoing, particularly in Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg, which continues a residential boom alongside mixed-use development.

Housing in the area is expensive. Home values in the 11222 zip code that includes the school are well above both state and national benchmarks, and monthly rental costs are correspondingly high. The economic context shows a solid regional job market anchored by healthcare, higher education, tech, and city government, though mortgage rates and rental inflation remain considerations for families.

Attendance data and chronic absenteeism rates were not available in the school's public record, as was information on the share of students receiving special education services or identified as English learners, so a parent may want to inquire directly about those populations and the support structures in place. The school's website was not included in the available data, which would otherwise offer detail on specific programs, clubs, or enrichment opportunities.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

1 course 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
Math	20	30.0%

Math

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 48% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 61% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 33% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 60% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 61% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 63% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 40% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 818%

School 18% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #14, 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 7Lower-income49%Higher-income70%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income49%Higher-income67%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income56%Higher-income60%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income49%Higher-income80%31 pp gap