MS 394

Located at 188 ROCHESTER AVE, in BROOKLYN, New York, MS 394 is a tight-knit elementary-level community that teaches 201 students (grades pre-K through 8), operated by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #17. That puts it 55% smaller than the typical public school in New York, which averages around 443 students.

MS 394 is one of 49 schools operated by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #17, a district that caters to 16,990 students overall.

Looking at the student body, MS 394 records that Black students make up the majority at 70%. The remainder comes out to 25% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 28% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.8:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 93% of students at MS 394 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Kings County (around 79%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), MS 394 tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 34.0%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Kings County indicate the typical household earns roughly $80,263 per year, 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Kings County's 583 public schools (combined enrollment of about 291,697 students), MS 394 is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: EXPLORE EMPOWER CHARTER SCHOOL, around 0.0 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around MS 394. On composite proficiency, MS 394 comes 8th of 9 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 47.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at MS 394 has decreased 57%, going from 469 students in 2018 to 201 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 18% to 25% across the same window.

On allk12, members of the MS 394 community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.