P.S. 156 Waverly

104 SUTTER AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11212 · Brooklyn · Elementary

DBN: 23K156

Elementary

Unzoned

SchoolDigger: 1754 (of 2445)

Niche: C+

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: 89.6%

56.4% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

44.8%(citywide avg: 54.9%)

ELA avg. rating

2.80 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.04 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

51.9%(citywide avg: 53.6%)

Math avg. rating

2.97 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.98 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

43.1%

Grade 3 Math

62.7%

Grade 4 ELA

43.5%

Grade 4 Math

49.2%

Grade 5 ELA

47.1%

Grade 5 Math

46.5%

By student group

Students with disabilities -- ELA

27.8%

Students with disabilities -- Math

37%

Black students -- ELA

42.2%(citywide avg: 53.1%)

Black students -- Math

50%(citywide avg: 51.3%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

48.9%(citywide avg: 57.8%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

57.8%(citywide avg: 57.7%)

"% 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

420 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 93.76%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.43%

Black

65.48%

Hispanic or Latino

29.52%

White

1.9%

Multiracial

0.71%

Native American

0.95%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

32.86%

English Language Learners

6.9%

Living in poverty

93.1%

Female

50.71%

Male

49.29%

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.

Non-Zoned

75 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 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 ~5% 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. Students who live outside the district and have a sibling at the school.

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).

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

~100% admitted

There were about 5 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~7% 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 who are currently enrolled at the school for pre-K.

~100% admitted

5. Other students who live in the district.

~100% admitted

There were about 20 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~27% 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).

6. Other students who live outside the district.

~100% admitted

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) →

More District 23 schools

All District 23 schools →