P.S. 97 The Highlawn

1855 Stillwell Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11223 · Brooklyn · Elementary

DBN: 21K097

Elementary

Zoned: Elementary

SchoolDigger: 581 (of 2445)

Niche: A- · 676 (of 2807)

Zones into these middle schools

I.S. 228 David A. Boody I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro I.S. 096 Seth Low

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: 94.2%

81.1% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

62.7%(citywide avg: 67%)

ELA avg. rating

3.19 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.29 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

77.3%(citywide avg: 72.1%)

Math avg. rating

3.50 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.40 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

60.2%

Grade 3 Math

75.2%

Grade 4 ELA

55.3%

Grade 4 Math

73.6%

Grade 5 ELA

74%

Grade 5 Math

84.3%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

48.8%(citywide avg: 60.9%)

English Language Learners -- Math

69.8%(citywide avg: 70.4%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

37.9%

Students with disabilities -- Math

55.9%

Asian students -- ELA

71.6%(citywide avg: 75.5%)

Asian students -- Math

89.1%(citywide avg: 83.2%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

44.2%(citywide avg: 49.2%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

54.3%(citywide avg: 50.4%)

White students -- ELA

62.8%(citywide avg: 70.2%)

White students -- Math

77.3%(citywide avg: 75.5%)

"% 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

900 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 73.27%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

48%

Black

1.56%

Hispanic or Latino

22.89%

White

25.22%

Multiracial

1.44%

Native American

0.89%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

19%

English Language Learners

23.44%

Living in poverty

76.22%

Female

50.22%

Male

49.78%

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

125 seats

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.

~100% admitted

There were about 30 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~24% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

2. Other students who live in the zone.

~100% admitted

There were about 50 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~40% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

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

~100% admitted

There were about 10 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~8% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

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

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 5 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~3% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

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

~100% admitted

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

No applicants

There were no applicants in this group.This group's offers alone accounted for ~0% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

7. Other students who live in the district.

~60% admitted

There were about 50 applicants in this group and about 30 received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~24% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

8. Other students who live outside the district.

~0% admitted

There were fewer than 5 applicants in this group and none received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~0% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

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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