P.S. 261 Zipporiah Mills

314 PACIFIC STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11201 · Brooklyn · Elementary

DBN: 15K261

Elementary

Zoned: Elementary

SchoolDigger: 661 (of 2445)

Niche: B+ · 803 (of 2807)

Academic quality

ELA = English Language Arts (reading and writing). Math and Science are self-explanatory.
NY State tests ELA and Math every year in grades 3-8, and Science once, in grade 8 -- a school's numbers below only reflect whichever of those grades it actually serves (no social studies/history state test exists at this level).
"Avg. rating" is DOE's average student score on a 1.0-4.5 scale (higher is better) -- shown here as "value / 4.5" alongside the citywide average for the same metric as a benchmark for what's typical.

Attendance: 93.7%

85.2% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

66.9%(citywide avg: 76.8%)

ELA avg. rating

3.25 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.50 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

61%(citywide avg: 76.7%)

Math avg. rating

3.10 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.49 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

65.4%

Grade 3 Math

63.3%

Grade 4 ELA

60%

Grade 4 Math

60.6%

Grade 5 ELA

75%

Grade 5 Math

59.7%

By student group

Students with disabilities -- ELA

21.1%

Small sample (19 students) -- treat as directional.

Students with disabilities -- Math

18.8%

Small sample (16 students) -- treat as directional.

Black students -- ELA

35.3%(citywide avg: 47.1%)

Small sample (17 students) -- treat as directional.

Black students -- Math

23.5%(citywide avg: 44.8%)

Small sample (17 students) -- treat as directional.

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

47.8%(citywide avg: 58.6%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

37.5%(citywide avg: 55.2%)

White students -- ELA

75.7%(citywide avg: 85.2%)

White students -- Math

70.9%(citywide avg: 84.9%)

Multiracial students -- ELA

85%(citywide avg: 96.1%)

Multiracial students -- Math

63.6%(citywide avg: 80.4%)

"% proficient" is the share of students scoring Level 3 or 4 on the state test. Citywide comparisons are the average across schools of the same type. Grades and groups with very few tested students are flagged since a handful of kids can swing the percentage a lot; groups too small to report are omitted by DOE for student privacy -- that's also why Science, tested only once, shows up far less often than ELA/Math.Source: NYC Open Data: School Quality Reports Data (2024-25 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See full grade-by-grade test results (ELA, Math, Science) →

Demographics

502 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 34.19%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

6.57%

Black

13.55%

Hispanic or Latino

18.53%

White

49%

Multiracial

12.15%

Native American

Missing race/ethnicity data

0.2%

Other groups

Students with disabilities

23.71%

English Language Learners

2.59%

Living in poverty

29.68%

Female

53.59%

Male

46.41%

Neither female nor male

Economic Need Index is DOE's estimate of the share of students facing economic hardship, based on eligibility for public assistance, temporary housing status, and household income relative to the poverty line. Some very high values are reported by DOE only as "Above 95%" for student privacy and are shown here as 95%.Source: NYC DOE: Demographic Snapshot (2025-26 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

Kindergarten admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

For seats starting the 2025-26 school year. NYC DOE reports these seat/applicant figures under the school year they're for, not the cycle that filled them.

Zoned

80 seats

Not all seats filled last year

Priority groups, in the order NYC DOE offers seats. Tap a group for NYC DOE's exact wording.

1. Students who live in the zone and have a sibling at the school.

Not enough data

All applicants in this group who identified as eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch, living in temporary or public housing, or English Language Learners received offers last year. All additional applicants in this group received offers.

2. Other students who live in the zone.

Not enough data

3. Students who live in the district and have a sibling at the school.

Not enough data

4. Students who live outside the district and have a sibling at the school.

Not enough data

There were no applicants in this group who identified as eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch, living in temporary or public housing, or English Language Learners last year. All additional applicants in this group received offers.

5. Students who live in the district and are currently enrolled at the school for pre-K.

Not enough data

6. Students who live outside the district and are currently enrolled at the school for pre-K.

Not enough data

7. Other students who live in the district.

Not enough data

8. Other students who live outside the district.

Not enough data

Estimates derived from NYC DOE's own wording, which rounds and fuzzes small numbers for privacy. Each group's applicant count is independent of the others -- schools are usually oversubscribed, so applicant counts across groups often add up to more than the total seats. That's expected, not an error.Source: NYC DOE MySchools Admissions Data (Through the 2025-26 cycle for middle school, 2024-25 for kindergarten (2025-26 kindergarten results not yet published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See your own chances here

Which priority group your child falls into decides the odds above. The iPhone app works that out from your address and answers, then builds your whole ranked MySchools list. How it works

Download on theApp Store

School survey

Family, student, and teacher responses on instruction, safety, school climate, and family engagement.

See detailed school survey results (Families, Students, Teachers) →

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