Is Van Siclen Community Middle School a good school?

Van Siclen Community Middle School ranks in the bottom 3.4% of New York middle schools.

How many students attend Van Siclen Community Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 221 students attended Van Siclen Community Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Van Siclen Community Middle School?

Students at Van Siclen Community Middle School are 67% African American, 26% Hispanic, 3% White, 1% Asian, 1% American Indian.

Van Siclen Community Middle School

Summary:

Van Siclen Community Middle School is a public middle school in Brooklyn, New York, serving 221 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the New York City Geographic District #19, which is ranked 745 out of 865 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Van Siclen Community Middle School consistently ranks among the lowest-performing middle schools in New York, with rankings between 1340-1453 out of around 1500 middle schools over the past several years. The school's performance on state assessments is significantly below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, particularly for African American students, English Language Learners, and students with special needs. The school has an extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 94.44% to 97.29% over the past few years, indicating a high concentration of students from low-income families. Despite the school's low academic performance, its spending per student is relatively high, ranging from $17,507 to $24,067 per student over the past few years.

The challenges faced by Van Siclen Community Middle School are not unique, as the nearby School of the Future Brooklyn and East New York Middle School of Excellence also perform poorly on state assessments, with rankings and proficiency rates similar to Van Siclen. However, the presence of Collegiate Academy-Math-Personal Awa, a high-performing public charter school less than a mile away, suggests that there may be opportunities for improvement through targeted interventions and best practices.

Detail:

Public 6-8

800 Van Siclen Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11207

(718) 927-4701

District: New York City Geographic District #19

SchoolDigger Rank:
1453^rd of 1,504 New York Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,067

Feeder schools for Van Siclen Community Middle School:

Elementary:	Fresh Creek School (The)
	Ps 213 New Lots
	Ps 224 Hale A Woodruff
	Ps 273 Wortman
	More...
	Ps 306 Ethan Allen

Student/teacher ratio: 10.7

Number of students: 221

Racial breakdown:

African American:

67.0%

Hispanic:

26.2%

White:

3.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 97.3%

See top rated New York middle schools

Compare Van Siclen Community Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Van Siclen Community Middle School ranks worse than 96.6% of middle schools in New York. It also ranks last among 13 ranked middle schools in the New York City Geographic District #19. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.52. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (67%), Hispanic (26.2%), White (3.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 97.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Van Siclen Community Middle School is 10.7. 8 middle schools in the New York City Geographic District #19 have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Van Siclen Community Middle School employs 20.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Van Siclen Community Middle School is $24,067. 8 middle schools in the New York City Geographic District #19 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Van Siclen Community Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Van Siclen Community Middle School 1453^rd of 1504 New York public middle schools. (See Van Siclen Community Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

New York City Geographic District #19:

SchoolDigger ranks New York City Geographic District #19 745^th of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Van Siclen Community Middle School.

What do you think?

Your rating for Van Siclen Community Middle School?

(Ranking FAQ)

Rank History for Van Siclen Community Middle School

Compare

Rank History for all students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2016	9.30	1388^th	1429	2.9%
2017	10.86	1385^th	1455	4.8%
2018	12.85	1340^th	1438	6.8%
2019	10.44	1368^th	1439	4.9%
2022	13.83	1367^th	1479	7.6%
2023	12.15	1406^th	1500	6.3%
2024	8.52	1453^rd	1504	3.4%

See the entire list of New York Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	39.49	274^th	503	45.5%
2022	27.54	499^th	581	14.1%
2023	47.77	225^th	591	61.9%
2024	39.45	352^nd	615	42.8%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	35.72	768^th	1170	34.4%
2019	28.85	909^th	1139	20.2%
2022	25.99	1103^rd	1283	14.0%
2023	21.52	1200^th	1307	8.2%
2024	28.03	1021^st	1303	21.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	18.88	1139^th	1245	8.5%
2019	19.37	1118^th	1241	9.9%
2022	17.50	1196^th	1306	8.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	16.10	439^th	457	3.9%
2019	36.93	259^th	392	33.9%
2022	35.95	324^th	487	33.5%
2023	49.02	245^th	543	54.9%
2024	27.85	479^th	594	19.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	12.16	1279^th	1353	5.5%
2019	11.13	1300^th	1370	5.1%
2022	14.57	1335^th	1454	8.2%
2023	13.80	1355^th	1463	7.4%
2024	10.74	1396^th	1465	4.7%

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

Rank History for Male students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	15.68	1244^th	1352	8.0%
2019	12.44	1299^th	1366	4.9%
2022	14.47	1354^th	1455	6.9%
2023	13.06	1370^th	1464	6.4%
2024	9.25	1420^th	1464	3.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	27.36	525^th	663	20.8%
2019	21.20	567^th	653	13.2%
2022	24.88	565^th	706	20.0%
2023	26.86	552^nd	696	20.7%
2024	19.18	623^rd	705	11.6%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Van Siclen Community Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	12.53	783^rd	810	3.3%
2019	10.51	803^rd	826	2.8%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Hispanic 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: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a teacher
Tuesday, October 17, 2017

This is a great school! Safe and plenty of programs Close Quote

Enrollment information for Van Siclen Community Middle School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2014	2	75	0	43	0	0	0	120
2015	2	142	2	67	1	0	0	214
2016	6	203	6	86	2	0	0	303
2017	11	206	6	71	3	1	0	298
2018	12	215	5	66	3	0	1	302
2019	14	218	6	75	0	0	0	313
2020	9	200	5	78	0	1	0	293
2021	9	198	3	77	0	1	0	288
2022	1	155	3	72	2	1	0	234
2023	7	148	3	58	3	2	0	221

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 Van Siclen Community Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	120	6.0	20.0	97.5
2015	214	11.0	19.4	85
2016	303	18.0	16.8	81.2
2017	298	14.9	19.9	90.9
2018	302	19.0	15.8	95
2019	313	21.0	14.9	93
2020	293	22.9	12.7	95.6
2021	288	18.7	15.3	95.1
2022	234	22.0	10.6	94.4
2023	221	20.5	10.7	97.3

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 Van Siclen Community Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	120	6.0	20.0	97.5
2015	214	11.0	19.4	85
2016	303	18.0	16.8	81.2
2017	298	14.9	19.9	90.9
2018	302	19.0	15.8	95
2019	313	21.0	14.9	93
2020	293	22.9	12.7	95.6
2021	288	18.7	15.3	95.1
2022	234	22.0	10.6	94.4
2023	221	20.5	10.7	97.3

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.

Immunization Rates