East Middle School, Brentwood NY

Original Research by School Decision on East Middle School

East Middle School serves grades six through eight in Brentwood, a diverse, modestly priced hamlet on central Long Island within the Brentwood Union Free School District. The school enrolls a population that is substantially Hispanic and includes a substantial share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body reflects the economic reality of the surrounding community, where single-family homes at modest price points dominate the housing stock, and where major employers in health care, manufacturing, and logistics support working families.

State assessment results for the most recent year show proficiency rates that are below the midpoint among Suffolk County districts. In sixth-grade math and English language arts, roughly a third of students met proficiency. Seventh-grade performance is somewhat higher in math, with about four in ten students proficient, though seventh-grade English language arts drops to roughly the same proportion as sixth grade. Eighth grade presents a steeper challenge: math proficiency falls to roughly one in six students, while English language arts improves to about four in ten. Science proficiency at eighth grade sits near the sixth-and-seventh-grade ELA level. Participation rates in testing are substantial for most grades, though notably lower in eighth-grade math and science. These patterns suggest that students gain ground in some areas as they advance but face mounting difficulty with eighth-grade mathematics in particular.

Brentwood is on a growth trajectory driven by affordable housing demand and major adaptive-reuse projects. The largest new development underway is Joseph's Village, an affordable housing conversion of the former Academy of St. Joseph into a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, with roughly half designated as supportive housing. Construction is slated to begin in 2026 and to complete in 2028, which may affect enrollment and community composition over the coming years. The broader area includes the Marketplace at Brentwood, a car-oriented retail center, plus civic anchors such as the Brentwood Public Library and the LIRR station on the Ronkonkoma Branch, which connects to multiple transit routes. The community itself is minimally walkable and car-dependent, with most daily commerce and services accessed by vehicle.

The district has taken steps to address school capacity and learning environments. Voters approved a capital plan for 2026-27 that includes funds to construct additional classroom space at four elementary schools, plus investments in air conditioning, security systems, and technology. The district also participates in the Community Eligibility Provision, providing breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students regardless of household income. At the high school level, the district has expanded Graduation PLUS+, a dual-enrollment and postsecondary pathway initiative that includes college credit earned before graduation and a new dual-enrollment research course with Syracuse University for eleventh and twelfth graders.

A parent considering East Middle School should understand that the school serves a community with high rates of economic need and a largely Spanish-speaking household base. State test results indicate that proficiency levels, particularly in mathematics, are below what is typical for the county, and that eighth-grade mathematics in particular warrants close attention. The school is part of a district managing growth, managing property-tax restraint over several years, and investing in both infrastructure and academic pathways. For families in Brentwood looking for a traditional public middle school with no alternative or specialized focus, East Middle is the local option. Parents may want to ask the school directly about supports for students who are not yet proficient, how the district is responding to the low participation and proficiency in eighth-grade math, and what academic interventions or enrichment are available to help students progress.

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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	98	94.0%
Science	48	96.0%

Math

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 26% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 34% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 29% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 26% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 28% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 858%

School 58% · district not reported

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

This schoolBRENTWOOD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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 6Lower-income29%Higher-income50%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income33%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income59%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income33%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income36%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income21%6 pp gap