Ps 225 Eileen E Zaglin (the), Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 225 Eileen E Zaglin (the)

PS 225 Eileen E Zaglin serves a PreK-8 student population in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay area, a mixed-income neighborhood anchored by dense residential blocks and commercial strips along the waterfront and avenues. This is a school embedded in a community with strong public transit, walkable streets, and active street-level retail, where families rely on subway lines and bus routes for both neighborhood access and connections across the borough. Housing prices and rents in the area reflect Brooklyn's overall growth and development, with new residential construction reshaping neighborhoods across the borough while demand remains high.

The school enrolls a student body that reflects Brooklyn's diversity. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment spans preK through grade 8, with the largest cohorts in the upper grades and steady numbers across earlier years. The student population is predominantly white, with sizable populations of Hispanic, Asian, and smaller populations of other backgrounds. Data on special education status and English learner numbers were not available, so a complete picture of how the school serves students with disabilities or language support needs is not present here.

State testing results show mixed performance across subjects and grades. In math, third and fifth graders show weaker proficiency, while fourth, seventh, and eighth graders perform better. Across all math grades tested, roughly two-fifths to two-thirds of students meet proficiency standards, with sixth grade falling below that range. English language arts performance is lower overall. In grades 3 through 7, proficiency ranges from the high thirties to mid-forties percent. Eighth grade ELA proficiency dips notably lower. Science testing is limited: fifth grade shows low proficiency, and eighth grade had no tested students reported.

When positioned against other districts in Kings County, PS 225's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile, meaning most county districts show stronger state assessment performance. This is straightforward data without judgment: the school's students are not meeting proficiency benchmarks at the rates seen in peer districts. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how the building approaches literacy and math support, what intervention structures exist, and how performance trends over time.

The school operates within New York City Geographic District 21 and is subject to two major curriculum mandates that have recently reshaped teaching practice. NYC Reads, a citywide literacy initiative, now requires all elementary schools to use one of three science-of-reading-aligned reading programs rather than letting schools choose their own. NYC Solves, similarly, is phasing in standardized math instruction across all middle schools by 2027-28. These mandates represent a lasting shift in pedagogy and pacing. District 21 also administers selective middle school programs, including Mark Twain I.S. 51 for the Gifted & Talented, where admission is based on competitive talent exams and auditions. Families in the district navigating the middle-school transition should know that screened admissions returned to the system after a pandemic-era lottery pause.

PS 225 is a regular public school with no special designation. It sits within a district serving a large portion of central and south Brooklyn, a borough defined by mixed-density neighborhoods, major civic anchors like Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Public Library system, and a robust transit network. Brooklyn's economy reflects healthcare (major hospitals like Maimonides and SUNY Downstate), higher education, a growing tech sector, and city government as the primary employers. The school's location on Oceanview Avenue places it near the waterfront and a neighborhood experiencing steady residential growth and change.

For families considering this school, the practical reality is straightforward: academic proficiency is below the county average in tested subjects, and performance gaps are most pronounced in ELA and science. The building's strengths in specific grade-year cohorts (strong fourth and seventh grade math, for instance) suggest uneven results rather than systemic weakness, and families would benefit from direct conversations with school staff about what explains those variations and how the building approaches student support. The school's embedded location in a walkable, transit-connected Brooklyn neighborhood is a clear asset for families without a car. The mandated curricula offer consistency and research backing but also reduce school-level flexibility. This is a neighborhood school serving a community with high need and economic challenge; whether it is the right fit depends on what your family values and what you learn directly from the school about its approach to struggling students.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses 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	122	56.0%
Science	88	33.0%

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 67% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 63% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 61% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 64% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 74% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 70% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 59% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 57% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 61% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 64% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 66% · ▼ 19 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 64% · ▼ 41 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 46% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 54% · ▼ 54 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 586%

School 86% · district not reported

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

Grade 841%

School 41% · district not reported

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #21, 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 3Lower-income36%Higher-income70%35 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income42%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income41%Higher-income22%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income40%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income31%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income64%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income42%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income54%22 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income30%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income82%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income63%Higher-income86%23 pp gap