Is Ps 397 Foster-Laurie a good school?

Ps 397 Foster-Laurie ranks 625 th of 2439 New York elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Ps 397 Foster-Laurie?

In the 2022-23 school year, 165 students attended Ps 397 Foster-Laurie.

What is the racial makeup of Ps 397 Foster-Laurie?

Students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie are 76% African American, 8% Hispanic, 5% White, 5% Asian, 4% American Indian, 2% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Ps 397 Foster-Laurie attend?

Students who attend Ps 397 Foster-Laurie usually go on to attend: Middle : Parkside Preparatory Academy

Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Summary:

PS 397 Foster-Laurie is an exceptional elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, serving 165 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade and part of the New York City Geographic District #17.

PS 397 Foster-Laurie consistently outperforms the district and state in academic proficiency, with 81.25% of 3rd-graders and 87.5% of 4th-graders meeting or exceeding ELA standards, compared to 44.95% and 53.34% for the district, respectively. The school's 4th-grade Math proficiency rate is also impressive at 87.5%, surpassing the district's 51.04% and the state's 53.85%. This exceptional performance extends to the school's diverse student population, with African American and female students ranking in the top 20% and 15% of New York elementary schools, respectively.

Compared to nearby schools in the same district, such as PS 161 Crown (The) and PS 221 Toussaint L'Ouverture, PS 397 Foster-Laurie consistently outperforms them in academic proficiency. The school's small student-teacher ratio of 12:1 may contribute to its strong academic results, and its SchoolDigger rating has improved from 1 star to 4 stars out of 5 over the past several years, reflecting the positive trajectory of the school.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

490 Fenimore St
Brooklyn, NY 11203

(718) 774-5200

District: New York City Geographic District #17

SchoolDigger Rank:
625^th of 2,439 New York Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $21,235

Students who attend Ps 397 Foster-Laurie usually attend:

Middle:

Parkside Preparatory Academy

Student/teacher ratio: 12.0

Number of students: 165

Racial breakdown:

African American:

75.8%

Hispanic:

7.9%

White:

5.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 81.2%

See top rated New York elementary schools

Compare Ps 397 Foster-Laurie to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Ps 397 Foster-Laurie ranks better than 74.4% of elementary schools in New York. It also ranks 6^th among 22 ranked elementary schools in the New York City Geographic District #17. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 72.13. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (75.8%), Hispanic (7.9%), White (5.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 81.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie is 12, which is the 10^th best among 22 elementary schools in the New York City Geographic District #17. (See more...)

Compare Ps 397 Foster-Laurie employs 13.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie is $21,235. 14 elementary schools in the New York City Geographic District #17 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Ps 397 Foster-Laurie:

SchoolDigger ranks Ps 397 Foster-Laurie 625^th of 2439 New York public elementary schools. (See Ps 397 Foster-Laurie in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

New York City Geographic District #17:

SchoolDigger ranks New York City Geographic District #17 614^th of 866 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Ps 397 Foster-Laurie.

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Rank History for Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

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Rank History for all students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2006	9.76	2081^st	2206	5.7%
2007	13.14	1988^th	2219	10.4%
2008	17.80	1957^th	2227	12.1%
2009	22.80	1933^rd	2257	14.4%
2010	12.27	2090^th	2263	7.6%
2011	16.20	2017^th	2286	11.8%
2012	22.58	1918^th	2320	17.3%
2013	21.32	1943^rd	2325	16.4%
2014	22.30	1913^th	2345	18.4%
2015	11.52	2191^st	2352	6.8%
2016	22.59	1924^th	2366	18.7%
2017	42.23	1390^th	2386	41.7%
2018	57.72	1000^th	2395	58.2%
2019	56.96	985^th	2413	59.2%
2021	63.29	774^th	2201	64.8%
2022	63.93	814^th	2434	66.6%
2023	72.13	625^th	2439	74.4%

See the entire list of New York Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	70.92	345^th	2031	83.0%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	87.46	52^nd	730	92.9%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	69.79	637^th	2338	72.8%
2019	72.51	580^th	2357	75.4%
2022	73.20	560^th	2401	76.7%
2023	81.14	405^th	2403	83.1%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	43.21	1354^th	2340	42.1%
2019	42.52	1327^th	2358	43.7%
2022	53.37	1062^nd	2400	55.8%
2023	59.83	903^rd	2400	62.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	76.18	170^th	948	82.1%
2019	84.68	102^nd	891	88.6%
2022	77.64	162^nd	936	82.7%
2023	77.07	147^th	857	82.8%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: NY State Education Department

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)

50%

Reviews:

by a parent
Sunday, August 13, 2023

teachers are nice but yell at student to much.too much work. did not like this school. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1989	0	553	4	35	0	n/a	n/a	592
1990	1	564	5	40	0	n/a	n/a	610
1991	0	574	4	29	0	n/a	n/a	607
1992	0	538	3	35	0	n/a	n/a	576
1993	1	513	14	42	3	n/a	n/a	573
1994	2	500	10	37	1	n/a	n/a	550
1995	2	490	8	24	1	n/a	n/a	525
1996	2	490	8	24	1	n/a	n/a	525
1997	0	442	6	19	2	n/a	n/a	469
1998	3	409	6	17	1	n/a	n/a	436
1999	7	425	6	16	0	n/a	n/a	454
2000	3	419	6	14	2	n/a	n/a	444
2001	3	405	4	10	3	n/a	n/a	425
2002	1	458	2	11	1	n/a	n/a	473
2003	1	458	2	11	1	n/a	n/a	473
2004	0	439	2	21	3	n/a	n/a	465
2005	2	403	3	19	3	n/a	n/a	430
2006	3	377	7	21	5	n/a	n/a	413
2007	3	365	8	21	6	n/a	n/a	403
2008	4	370	12	25	4	n/a	n/a	415
2009	7	385	10	22	3	n/a	n/a	427
2010	5	373	11	24	6	n/a	n/a	419
2011	9	332	8	20	4	0	0	373
2012	11	340	8	17	0	0	0	376
2013	14	308	9	19	2	2	1	355
2014	16	290	10	22	1	0	1	340
2015	12	258	8	26	1	0	0	305
2016	11	213	6	23	3	0	2	258
2017	20	156	7	12	1	0	2	198
2018	14	135	5	14	25	0	2	195
2019	8	139	4	19	14	0	2	186
2020	8	131	2	18	13	0	1	173
2021	10	127	3	16	9	0	1	166
2022	8	130	4	16	8	0	2	168
2023	9	125	8	13	6	0	4	165

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	592	30.9	19.1	n/a
1990	610	30.4	20.0	n/a
1991	607	30.3	20.0	n/a
1992	576	28.9	19.9	n/a
1993	573	29.0	19.8	n/a
1994	550	27.2	20.2	n/a
1995	525	25.1	20.9	n/a
1996	525	25.1	20.9	n/a
1997	469	25.0	18.8	94.9
1998	436	24.0	18.2	95
1999	454	26.1	17.4	94.9
2000	444	27.1	16.4	93.5
2001	425	29.0	14.7	96.9
2002	473	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	473	n/a	n/a	n/a
2004	465	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	430	33.0	13.0	0
2006	413	31.0	13.3	85.2
2007	403	26.5	15.2	86.6
2008	415	25.0	16.6	86.3
2009	427	33.0	12.9	91.3
2010	419	30.0	13.9	n/a
2011	373	30.3	12.2	97.3
2012	376	28.0	13.4	97.6
2013	355	27.0	13.1	88.2
2014	340	24.0	14.1	91.8
2015	305	25.0	12.2	94.8
2016	258	20.0	12.9	84.9
2017	198	18.1	10.9	83.8
2018	195	17.0	11.4	87.7
2019	186	15.0	12.3	86
2020	173	16.0	10.8	78
2021	166	15.6	10.6	86.1
2022	168	12.4	13.4	73.2
2023	165	13.7	12.0	81.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Ps 397 Foster-Laurie

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	592	30.9	19.1	n/a
1990	610	30.4	20.0	n/a
1991	607	30.3	20.0	n/a
1992	576	28.9	19.9	n/a
1993	573	29.0	19.8	n/a
1994	550	27.2	20.2	n/a
1995	525	25.1	20.9	n/a
1996	525	25.1	20.9	n/a
1997	469	25.0	18.8	94.9
1998	436	24.0	18.2	95
1999	454	26.1	17.4	94.9
2000	444	27.1	16.4	93.5
2001	425	29.0	14.7	96.9
2002	473	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	473	n/a	n/a	n/a
2004	465	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	430	33.0	13.0	0
2006	413	31.0	13.3	85.2
2007	403	26.5	15.2	86.6
2008	415	25.0	16.6	86.3
2009	427	33.0	12.9	91.3
2010	419	30.0	13.9	n/a
2011	373	30.3	12.2	97.3
2012	376	28.0	13.4	97.6
2013	355	27.0	13.1	88.2
2014	340	24.0	14.1	91.8
2015	305	25.0	12.2	94.8
2016	258	20.0	12.9	84.9
2017	198	18.1	10.9	83.8
2018	195	17.0	11.4	87.7
2019	186	15.0	12.3	86
2020	173	16.0	10.8	78
2021	166	15.6	10.6	86.1
2022	168	12.4	13.4	73.2
2023	165	13.7	12.0	81.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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