Albert Shanker School for Visual and Performing Arts

Shanker sits slightly below the Queens District 30 average in both subjects — 57.7% ELA proficiency vs. 60.7% districtwide, and 57.2% math vs. 62.2% — but the headline here is the trajectory. From 2016 to 2025, math proficiency climbed from 28.8% to 57.2% (roughly doubling), and ELA rose from 38.8% to 57.7%. Seventh graders are the academic standouts, hitting 59.1% ELA and a notably strong 70.5% math. The overall 2.3/4 score lands just below the district average of 2.46/4, but the gap is shrinking year over year.

The culture data is a study in contrasts. On the trust and instruction side, this school is exceptional: 99% of teachers rate instruction quality positively, 100% trust their principal, and parent-principal trust is at 98% — all well above district averages. The discipline picture is more complicated. The suspension rate of 3% is more than ten times the district average of roughly 0.3%, though the absolute number is small (11 suspensions) and has held flat for three years rather than worsening. Attendance is a real concern at 91.5% (below the 92.4% district average), and chronic absenteeism sits at a striking 72% — though this is a chronic-absenteeism figure being reported as a percentage point across the student body, it is the kind of number that warrants a direct conversation with the school about what's driving it.

The student body is majority Hispanic (43%) with a large Asian population (27%), followed by Black (14%) and White (12%) students. The diversity index of 77% reflects a genuinely mixed school rather than a two-group split. The economic need index of 79.6% means roughly four out of five students qualify as economically disadvantaged, which lines up with a neighborhood where the median household income is $83,167 and the poverty rate is about one in five households. Family survey response is moderate (113 responses, 31% response rate) and the responses skew positive.

Old Astoria-Hallets Point is a predominantly renter neighborhood along the East River in western Queens, where about 45% of adults have a bachelor's degree and roughly 13% of households include children. Median home values are high (~$781,737) but homeownership is low (20%), reflecting Astoria's mix of long-standing immigrant households and newer arrivals priced out of buying. The area is connected to Manhattan via the N and W lines, though no station is right at the school's door, so families should plan for a real walk.

Three N/W stations serve the school — Broadway about 8 minutes on foot, 30 Av about 10 minutes, and 36 Av about 13 minutes — so a middle school commute here means a walk plus the subway, not a casual drop-off.