At a Glance
A tiny, struggling middle school in one of Manhattan's most family-thriving neighborhoods — where a rich program list and diverse student body can't yet lift the outcomes.
Best suited for
Families looking for a very small, diverse middle school with ELL support and a wide slate of extracurriculars, who are prepared to be actively involved in addressing attendance and academic gaps.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- A surprisingly rich menu of electives for a school of just 116 students — fencing, step team, fashion, cooking, photography, Lego Robotics, and a National Junior Honor Society chapter.
- A genuinely diverse student body (Hispanic, Black, White, and Asian) that reflects New York more broadly than the surrounding neighborhood does.
- Built-in ELL support and a high IEP rate suggest a school that is structured to serve students arriving with significant academic needs.
- Small enrollment of 116 means students are unlikely to get lost in the crowd, and average class sizes are right in line with the district.
- Restorative Circles and an Advisory program signal an effort to invest in social-emotional support alongside academics.
Things to consider
- ELA proficiency dropped sharply in 2024 (17.7%, down from 31.8%), and overall scores sit far below every peer school listed in District 2.
- Nearly one in three students is chronically absent, and parent satisfaction is about 38 points below the district average — families here appear meaningfully less engaged or less happy with the experience.
- The suspension rate (7%) is more than twenty times the district average; even with improvement from 2022-23, this signals real discipline pressure.
- The neighborhood has very few children relative to the city overall, which can mean fewer peers, classmates, and community supports after school.
- Teachers rate instruction quality at 58.8%, well below the district's 90% — a signal worth weighing for any parent evaluating the academic environment.
Based on 2023-24 data
School SummaryDistrict 2
District 2 includes some of the highest-performing schools in the city, and City Knoll is a clear outlier on the low end — every peer listed nearby (P.S. 77, P.S. 290, Success Academy branches) earns scores in the 94-99 range, while City Knoll sits at 0.78 out of 4. Families zoned here should know this is not a typical District 2 experience.
Academics
Proficiency numbers here are strikingly low compared to District 2 peers: 17.7% ELA proficiency versus a district average around 73%, and 21.2% math versus a district average around 72%. The 2024 ELA number represents a sharp drop from 31.8% the year before, while math actually edged up from 15.3% — a mixed but not reassuring picture. The story holds across grades: only 6.9% of sixth graders hit ELA proficiency, and even the strongest grade (8th-grade ELA at 24.1%) is far below where most middle schools in this district land.
Culture
Climate signals here are concerning. Attendance runs at 79.5%, well below the district's 92% average, and 31.9% of students are chronically absent — including more than a third of girls and nearly half of Black students. Parent satisfaction (54.6%) and teacher-reported instruction quality (58.8%) sit far below district norms of 92% and 90% respectively. The suspension rate of 7% is more than twenty times the district average of 0.3%, though it has pulled back from 16 incidents in 2022-23 to 11 in 2023-24 — a modest improvement.
Community
City Knoll's student body is majority Hispanic (61%) with a strong Black (21%), White (11%), and Asian (6%) mix — more racially diverse than many District 2 schools, with a diversity index of 60%. The economic need index of 80.3% and an IEP rate of 37% mean most students arrive with significant academic or support needs, and ELL services are built in. The neighborhood around the school looks quite different from the student body: Hell's Kitchen has a median household income of about $102,500 and a 13% poverty rate, with only about 5% of households containing children — a sign that most area families are not school-age.
Neighborhood
Hell's Kitchen is a dense, well-educated slice of Midtown Manhattan with a median household income just over $102,000 and a 71% college-educated rate. Only about 5% of households here have children, which is unusually low — meaning this is mostly a neighborhood of adults, renters, and professionals rather than young families. Still, the location is convenient: the school sits within roughly 7 to 9 minutes' walk of three subway lines.
Three subway options are within walking distance: the C and E at 50 St (about a 7-minute walk), the 1 at 50 St (about a 9-minute walk), and the 1 at 59 St-Columbus Circle (about a 9-minute walk).
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. City Knoll Middle School admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- City Knoll Middle SchoolUnscreened48 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is City Knoll Middle School a good school?
- On Motley, City Knoll Middle School earns an overall rating of 20/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run below the District 2 average.
- What grades does City Knoll Middle School serve?
- City Knoll Middle School serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into City Knoll Middle School?
- City Knoll Middle School admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is City Knoll Middle School public, charter, or private?
- City Knoll Middle School is a public school in NYC Community School District 2.
- What neighborhood is City Knoll Middle School in?
- City Knoll Middle School is in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.