Van Siclen Community Middle School, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Van Siclen Community Middle School

Van Siclen Community Middle School serves grades six through eight in East New York, Brooklyn. It is a regular public school, part of New York City Geographic District 19, and draws students almost entirely from the neighborhoods immediately surrounding it.

The school enrolls about a small-to-mid-sized cohort of middle-grade students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available.

On the 2024-25 New York State assessments, proficiency rates at Van Siclen are below the midpoint statewide and fall in the bottom quartile relative to other district schools across Kings County. In math, proficiency ranges from about a quarter of sixth graders to roughly half of eighth graders, with eighth-grade performance notably higher than the earlier grades. English language arts shows a similar progression, with proficiency climbing from around one-third at sixth grade to about two-fifths by eighth grade. Science proficiency, assessed only at eighth grade, sits near one-third. Participation rates across all tested subjects and grades are strong, consistently in the low to mid-range and above, suggesting the school is administering assessments to most enrolled students.

The across-the-board pattern here is clear: younger students in the school perform significantly lower on state measures than older ones, which may reflect either cumulative academic progress through the school or differences in cohort composition. A parent may want to ask the school directly about what supports and strategies are in place to raise proficiency in the earlier grades and what instructional changes occur between sixth and eighth grade.

Brooklyn itself is a densely walkable place with high transit access and strong civic anchors including Prospect Park and the extensive Brooklyn Public Library system. The neighborhood around Van Siclen, East New York, is part of a rapidly growing community; the city has publicly reported that a new accelerated high school, Bard High School Early College-Brooklyn, opened in this area for the 2024-25 school year, offering students a pathway to earn an associate degree alongside their high school diploma. Housing values and rents in the area are below state and national benchmarks, making it more affordable relative to much of the city.

District 19 recently adopted a standardized, science-of-reading curriculum called Wit & Wisdom across its schools, replacing an earlier model that let schools choose their own materials. This is relevant context for understanding reading instruction at Van Siclen, though the school's specific implementation and any additional literacy interventions were not detailed in available data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 29% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 39% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 44% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 37% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 39% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 38% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 33% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #19, 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-income29%Higher-income60%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap