PS 250 GEORGE H LINDSAY vs PS 361 EAST FLATBUSH EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL

PS 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School holds a meaningful edge in overall rating — 8.2 out of 10 against PS 250 George H. Lindsay's 7.6, a 0.6-point gap that reflects a larger divergence in state standing. PS 361 ranks #515 of 4,742 New York schools, placing it in the top 11 percent statewide. PS 250 George H. Lindsay ranks #1,081 of 4,742, a solid result but roughly 566 positions behind its Brooklyn counterpart.

The academic gap drives most of that difference. PS 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School scores 8.8 out of 10 on academics against PS 250 George H. Lindsay's 7.4 — a 1.4-point delta that directly reflects proficiency outcomes on state assessments. Growth scores, by contrast, are nearly identical: PS 250 earns a 9.8 and PS 361 earns a 9.9, meaning both schools are pushing students forward at an exceptional rate regardless of where those students start. A family primarily focused on how quickly their child will progress year over year will find little reason to choose one school over the other on that dimension alone.

Both schools serve high-need populations. Free and reduced lunch eligibility runs 88 percent at PS 250 George H. Lindsay and 90 percent at PS 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School — effectively equivalent. PS 361 is larger, enrolling 364 students versus 256 at PS 250, yet it achieves a slightly better student-teacher ratio of 9.6:1 against PS 250's 10.2:1. That means PS 361 manages more students with proportionally more staff, giving it a classroom-size advantage despite the higher enrollment.

One concrete structural difference separates the two programs: PS 250 George H. Lindsay serves grades PK through 05, offering a prekindergarten entry point, while PS 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School begins at kindergarten. For a family with a three- or four-year-old, PS 250 is the only option between the two. PS 361 is 4.8 miles from PS 250 — meaningful in Brooklyn — so geography will factor into decisions alongside these metrics.