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P.S. 241 Emma L. Johnston

Grades: Pre-K, K-5
Staff Pick
976 President Street
Brooklyn NY 11225
Phone: 718-636-4725

Our Insights

What’s Special

Museum trips and lively class discussions

The Downside

Gentrification has forced longtime residents out

An engaging curriculum, high expectations, creative lessons, and a group of teachers who work together as a team have earned PS 241 high marks on the citys Quality Review. The school takes advantage of its location to take children on frequent class trips to the nearby Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Brooklyn Childrens Museum.

The teachers are adept at sparking lively class discussions and there are lots of hands-on projects and fun activities. Children are grouped by ability; the strongest students are placed in an enrichment class.

Students seem eager to share their ideas, often in the grammatically correct complete sentences that their teachers want. In a 2nd-grade class, the teacher asked what it means to fight for a cause and then asked children to identify causes and people who had fought for them. Kindergartners animatedly considered whether a character in a story was mean or unhappy. Another kindergarten class worked in pairs to come up with letter sounds and then reported back. "My partner says, 'Popcorn pops,'" one boy offered.

In math, students are expected not only to solve problems but also to create models for solving them.

This approach also prompts discussion. A 5th-grader drew varied responses when she showed how she had solved a fraction problem. "I agree with what the number is, but I disagree with the model," one of her classmates said.

Teachers find unusual topics for students to write about. Third-graders in the enrichment class were assigned two countries and were asked to write an essay on which one was more deserving of the free books a fictional librarian planned to distribute. Another class wrote about whether snakes or sharks posed a greater danger to other animals.

In addition to trips to local museums, children may visit the United Nations and a local farm. Teaching artists come to PS 241 to offer programs in theater and dance.

The school can pay for some special programs because of the largess of Peter Malkin, a prestigious alumnus. He attended PS 241 in the 1940s and went on to graduate from Harvard and own the Empire State Building. Each year, he returns as principal for a day and has helped the school purchase technology and rebuild a playground.

The schools enrollment declined substantially a decade ago. It lost some children to charter schools but many more to rising housing costs that have driven families out of the neighborhood, says Frantz Lucius, who has been principal since 2010. The newcomers either do not have children, Lucius says, or if they do they are not sending them to PS 241. Whether that will changeand what effect it will have on PS 241remains uncertain.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: PS 241 offers team-teaching classes with a mix of general students and those with special needs.About 10 percent of students are English language learners, including a number from Africa whose native language is Fulani. Instruction for English language learners is provided both inside and outside their regular classroom.

ADMISSIONS: Neighborhood school. (Gail Robinson, March 2016)

Read more

School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Is this school safe and well-run?

From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey

How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
92%
82% Citywide Average

From the 2019-20 NY State Report Card

How many students were suspended?
0%
1% Citywide Average

From this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Are teachers effective?

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
100%
84% Citywide Average
Years of principal experience at this school
1.6

How do students perform academically?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
64%
53% Citywide Average
How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
73%
50% Citywide Average

What is the Pre-K like?

From the NYC Program Assessment (CLASS and ECERS-R) Database through 2019-2020

Instruction: Teachers ask kids to explain their reasoning when they solve problems
Activities: Children explore art, music, sand/water, dramatic play and more
Language: Teachers talk and listen to kids in a supportive way
Interaction: Teachers ask kids good questions and invite back-and-forth conversation

Who does this school serve?

From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Enrollment
372
Asian
1%
Black
74%
Hispanic
11%
White
10%
Other
5%
Free or reduced priced lunch
77%
Students with disabilities
11%
English language learners
6%
Pre-K seats
39
3-K seats
28

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Average daily attendance
90%
90% Citywide Average
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
40%
40% Citywide Average

From the 2020 School Directories

How does this school serve special populations?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
8%
30% Citywide Average
How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
0%
23% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
42%
21% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
50%
12% Citywide Average


For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

Crown Heights (District 17)
Trains: S Line to Botanic Garden; F Line to Park Place; B Line, Q Line to Prospect Park; 2 Line, 3 Line, 4 Line, 5 Line to Franklin Ave
Buses: B41, B43, B44-SBS, B45, B48, B49

Contact

Principal
Tamara Foy
Parent Coordinator
Tishanda Walker

Other Details

Shared campus?
No
This school is in its own building.
Metal detectors?
No

Zone for the 2019-2020 school year. Call school to confirm.

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