MS 839 vs JHS 14 SHELL BANK

MS 839 holds a 0.6-point overall rating advantage over JHS 14 Shell Bank — 8.5/10 versus 7.9/10 — and that gap translates into a significant state rank difference: MS 839 sits at #276 of 4,742 New York schools while JHS 14 Shell Bank ranks #777 of 4,742. Both are solidly performing Brooklyn middle schools, but MS 839 places in roughly the top 6% statewide compared to Shell Bank's top 16%, a meaningful separation when evaluating long-term academic trajectories.

The academic picture is more nuanced than the overall rating suggests. JHS 14 Shell Bank actually edges MS 839 on academic score — 8.8/10 versus 8.3/10 — and the two schools are nearly identical on growth, with Shell Bank at 10.0/10 and MS 839 at 9.9/10. Those growth scores indicate that both schools are exceptionally effective at moving students forward relative to their starting points, regardless of incoming level. MS 839's higher overall rating likely reflects factors beyond raw academics and growth, such as environment and equity sub-scores.

The demographic and resource differences between these two schools are sharp. MS 839 enrolls 305 students versus JHS 14 Shell Bank's 478, and its free and reduced lunch rate is 44% compared to Shell Bank's 91% — a 47-percentage-point gap that signals substantially different family income profiles and the corresponding support needs each school serves. Despite the larger enrollment, Shell Bank maintains a tighter student-teacher ratio of 9.4:1 versus MS 839's 10.5:1, meaning Shell Bank students on average have slightly more direct teacher access even in a bigger building.

Both schools cover grades 06–08 on identical grade spans and sit 4.2 miles apart within Brooklyn, making them a realistic either/or choice for families in overlapping zones. Neither school offers differentiated grade levels, so the decision comes down entirely to fit rather than program structure.