While the special education and high school ecosystems rely on citywide mobility, the middle school sector in Brooklyn has historically been hyper-localized and profoundly segregated. Nowhere was this more evident than in District 15, which spans highly affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods like Park Slope and Cobble Hill, alongside working-class, heavily Hispanic and Asian neighborhoods like Sunset Park and Red Hook.10
Despite existing in one of the most demographically diverse districts in the city (where nearly half the population is foreign-born), District 15’s middle schools were deeply segregated. This segregation was actively maintained by middle school "screens"—admissions criteria that utilized fourth-grade standardized test scores, attendance records, academic grades, and behavioral evaluations to sort students. Predictably, these screens resulted in affluent students clustering into a handful of highly desirable middle schools (such as MS 51 and MS 447), while lower-income students and English Language Learners (ELL) were concentrated in schools struggling with resources and academic performance.22,2,3
- 2018year the District 15 Diversity Plan was launched
- 52%of seats reserved for low-income families, English Language Learners and students in temporary housing
Recognizing the systemic inequity of this model, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the urban planning firm WXY Studio and community organizations, launched the District 15 Diversity Plan in 2018. The policy intervention was sweeping and controversial: it entirely eliminated all academic and behavioral screens for middle school admissions within the district. In its place, the district implemented an open lottery system equipped with a demographic priority weighting. Specifically, all District 15 middle schools were required to reserve roughly 52% of their seats (a figure mirroring the district-wide average at the time of implementation) for students from low-income families, English Language Learners, and students living in temporary housing.26,3
