Ps 41 Francis White, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 41 Francis White

PS 41 Francis White is a public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The school enrolls a small population typical of a neighborhood elementary school, drawn from a neighborhood with a majority Black population alongside a substantial Hispanic community. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the area.

The school's academic performance shows a familiar pattern in elementary literacy and math: early grades outperform upper grades. In third and fourth grade, proficiency rates in both English language arts and math sit in the upper-middle range. Third-grade math reaches roughly two-thirds proficiency, and fourth-grade math climbs to around three-quarters. Fourth-grade ELA performs similarly. By fifth grade, however, proficiency drops significantly in both subjects, with fifth-grade math proficiency falling to around two-fifths and ELA dropping to just above half. Fifth-grade science is the school's weakest area, with proficiency below two-fifths. Within the county's schools, PS 41's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint, a modest but real position.

The school sits in a densely built urban neighborhood where walkability is high and transit is extensive. Housing values in the immediate area have been steady, though the broader trajectory of Brooklyn is strong growth and new development, particularly in neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg to the west. Schools and civic life are woven into the neighborhood fabric rather than separated on campus-like grounds. Libraries, transit hubs, and parks anchor daily life. Prospect Park sits northwest of the school; the Brooklyn Public Library system, with its many branches, serves the neighborhood.

The school is part of New York City Geographic District 23, which covers central Brooklyn. The district is in the first phase of NYC Reads, a citywide mandate requiring all K-5 classrooms to use the Into Reading curriculum, a phonics-based approach that phases out prior balanced-literacy materials. This is a direct, lasting change in how every child in the school is taught to read. The district also has no zoned elementary schools, meaning families have open choice across all District 23 buildings rather than guaranteed neighborhood seats. District 23 has experienced sustained enrollment decline over recent years, a structural trend that affects school stability and resource allocation, though it also means greater flexibility in how buildings are used and staffed.

Recent state test data shows small class sizes in the tested grades, which can support individualized attention. Participation rates in state assessments are solid, particularly in fourth grade, though slightly lower in fifth grade. The gap between fourth- and fifth-grade performance merits attention; a parent may want to ask the school about the transition between grades and what support structures exist for students moving into upper elementary, especially in math and science where the fifth-grade decline is sharpest.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 59% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 50% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 39% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 56% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 48% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 555%

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

even with state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 22% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 569%

School 69% · district not reported

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · district not reported

▼ 63 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #23, 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.