Ps 288 Shirley Tanyhill (the), Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 288 Shirley Tanyhill (the)

PS 288 Shirley Tanyhill serves pre-K through eighth grade in Coney Island, a maritime neighborhood on Brooklyn's southern edge. The school is a regular public school in NYC Geographic District 21, located on West 25th Street near the ocean. It reflects its neighborhood and demographic: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the enrollment is small to mid-sized for the grade band, and the student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic. The school includes early childhood (pre-K and kindergarten) alongside elementary and middle grades, offering the full K-8 pathway that some families prefer to a fragmented system.

On state testing, PS 288 shows low proficiency across subjects and grades. In math, results range from roughly one in ten students proficient in sixth grade to about four in ten in third and eighth grades. English language arts proficiency is similar, ranging from about one in six to two in five across the grades tested. Science proficiency in grade five is exceptionally low, with fewer than one in twenty students at proficiency; eighth-grade science is stronger at roughly one in four. The school's proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's elementary and middle schools. A parent may want to look into what supports the school is putting in place to address these results, particularly in math and science.

The school's enrollment reflects deep poverty. Nearly all students come from families with incomes low enough to qualify for meal assistance, and the demographic makeup is roughly equivalent parts Black students and Hispanic students, with very small shares of other groups. No enrollment count for students with individualized education plans or those designated as English learners was available. These indicators suggest a student population facing substantial economic barriers and concentrated need.

Brooklyn as a place is dense, walkable, and well-connected by transit, with extensive public resources including libraries and parks. The broader borough has been in a development boom, particularly in neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg, though Coney Island itself, while historically a major leisure destination with the boardwalk and amusement park, operates as a residential waterfront community. Housing values in the 11224 zip code are above the state median and have risen modestly year over year. Rents have similarly ticked upward. The neighborhood's character blends residential streets with active commercial corridors, typical of central Brooklyn. Maimonides Medical Center and other healthcare systems are significant regional employers.

At the district level, NYC Reads and NYC Solves represent fundamental shifts. All schools, including PS 288, must now use one of three city-approved, science-of-reading-aligned reading curriculums rather than choosing their own. Middle schools including PS 288 will transition to approved math curriculums by the 2027-28 school year. These mandates reflect a citywide push for standardized, evidence-based instruction, replacing the prior practice of principal-driven curriculum choice. For a school with proficiency results in the range PS 288 shows, these structured approaches may provide clearer instructional frameworks, though families will have limited visibility into program selection decisions made at the district level.

The school operates within District 21, which manages a large portfolio of schools across central Brooklyn, including selective middle schools like Mark Twain I.S. where admission is based on competitive talent exams rather than neighborhood assignment. PS 288 itself is not a screened program; it is the neighborhood school for its area. This means it serves a broader cross-section of the community, which is consistent with its demographics.

For families in Coney Island or nearby areas considering PS 288, the school offers the full K-8 grade span, a small-community feel within a larger system, and deep neighborhood rootedness. The core tension is the low academic performance on state measures, paired with a student population facing substantial economic challenges. Before choosing, families should seek direct conversation with school leadership about improvement efforts, instructional resources, and any supports the school offers above the district's mandated curriculum programs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 67% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 63% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 61% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 64% · ▼ 54 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 74% · ▼ 51 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 70% · ▼ 31 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 59% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 57% · ▼ 40 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 61% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 64% · ▼ 39 pts below district

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

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 66% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 64% · ▼ 33 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 46% · ▼ 42 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 54% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 564%

School 64% · district not reported

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · district not reported

▼ 65 pts below state median · ▼ 29 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-income33%Higher-income60%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income37%Higher-income60%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income0%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income60%24 pp gap