PS 181

PS 181 is a mid-sized K-5 school in BROOKLYN, New York, overseen by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #17. The school works with 568 students in grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 28% larger than the typical public school in New York, which averages around 443 students.

PS 181 is one of 49 schools operated by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #17, a district that enrolls 16,990 students overall.

Demographically, PS 181 shows that 76% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder looks like 14% Hispanic, 5% Native American, 2% White. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 28%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.3:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.8:1, putting PS 181 tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 86% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, PS 181 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.5%; this one delivers 39.5%.

In the surrounding community, Kings County reports that median household income runs about $80,263, about 42% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 15%. PS 181 is one of 583 public schools in Kings County (combined enrollment of about 291,697 students).

PS 399 STANLEY EUGENE CLARKE is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PS 181. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts PS 181 at 6th of 9; the average score across the group is 53.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area.

Five-year trend. PS 181's enrollment has shrank 17% since 2018, when it stood at 682 (now 568). Black enrollment moved from 84% to 76% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the PS 181 community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.