PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE)

PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) is one of the big elementary schools in BROOKLYN, New York, run under NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #21, with 882 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 99% above the state mean of about 443.

Within NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #21, which oversees 40 schools and 33,610 students, PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) lists that 48% of students identify as Asian, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder consists of 25% White, 23% Hispanic. By comparison, Kings County as a whole is about 12% Asian, so the school skews visibly more Asian than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) reports 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.5:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.8:1 average. Around 78% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 64.7%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Kings County shows median household income runs about $80,263, roughly 42% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 15%. In all, Kings County runs 583 public schools (combined enrollment of about 291,697 students), of which PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) is one.

Nearest neighbor: PS 101 VERRAZANO (THE), around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE). On composite proficiency, PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) comes 6th of 9 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 68.1%.

PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE) operates from a downtown location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 14%: 773 students in 2018 compared to 882 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share decreased from 53% to 48%. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 15.5:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.