At a Glance
A small, diverse Upper East Side PK-8 with a real academic turnaround — and a middle-school dip worth watching
Best suited for
Families who want a small, relationship-rich, no-suspensions PK-8 in a wealthy Upper East Side pocket and who value a real turnaround story over top-of-the-district test scores.
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
- Dramatic academic gains since 2016 — math proficiency more than doubled from 25.5% to 61.6%
- Zero suspensions — students stay in the classroom, full stop
- 100% of teachers report strong relationships with students, the highest possible score
- A genuinely diverse student body (85% diversity index) in one of the city's wealthiest census tracts
- Strong parent-teacher (96%) and parent-principal (92%) trust signals
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 66.5% is high and worth asking the school about directly
- Grade 6 proficiency drops sharply (48% ELA, 52% math) — the middle-school transition looks rough
- Both ELA and math sit below District 2 averages, and District 2's averages are the highest in NYC
- PTA raises $150 per student versus the district average of $516 — fewer enrichment dollars flow through parent fundraising
- 22% of students have IEPs — the school's special-education support matters for any family navigating services
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 2
District 2 includes some of the city's highest-rated schools (Lab Schools, Success Academy, P.S. 290), and Ella Baker sits below the district average on overall score (2.63 vs. 2.91). Within the district, this is a solid-but-not-star school — one that's made impressive gains from a much lower starting point rather than a polished top performer.
Academics
Ella Baker's proficiency numbers tell a clear turnaround story. ELA climbed from 44% in 2016 to 69.9% in 2025, and math more than doubled from 25.5% to 61.6%. Both subjects are now within reach of District 2 averages (73.2% ELA, 72.5% math), though math remains meaningfully behind. The 2024 ELA dip to 56.6% is worth noting — the gains are real but not perfectly linear. Grade-level scores are strong in the lower grades (Grade 3 hits 83% ELA and 87% math) but drop sharply by Grade 6, where proficiency falls to 48% in ELA and 52% in math, suggesting the middle-school years here are the hardest stretch.
Culture
The day-to-day feel at Ella Baker sounds warm. Teachers report 96% safety and 100% strong relationships — the kind of numbers that suggest students feel known. Parent trust in teachers (96%) and the principal (92%) is high, even with a modest 29% family survey response rate. Zero suspensions is a genuine standout — students stay in class. The metric that gives pause is chronic absenteeism at 66.5%, which is high and worth asking the school about directly. Attendance overall (91.2%) sits just a hair below the district average.
Community
Ella Baker's 319 students look notably more diverse than the surrounding neighborhood: 36% white, 28% Hispanic, 15% Black, 9% Asian, 8% multiracial, and 3% Native American, with a diversity index of 85%. The school pulls from a wealthy census area (median household income $138K, 80% of adults with a bachelor's degree) but serves a meaningfully mixed-income population — an economic need index of 34.4% means roughly a third of students come from low-income households. Twenty-two percent of students have IEPs, and ELL support is offered.
Neighborhood
The school sits in the Upper East Side–Lenox Hill area, one of Manhattan's wealthiest census tracts — median household income tops $138K and just 8% of residents live below the poverty line. Only about one in five households includes children, and 80% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Home values hover around $1.2 million and homeownership is low at 28%, meaning most families in the area rent.
Three subway options are within easy walking distance: the Q at 72 St (about 5 minutes), the 6 at 68 St–Hunter College (about 6 minutes), and the M and Q at Lexington Av/63 St (about 7 minutes).
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
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) · 90 families responded (29% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
Ella Baker School also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
Ella Baker School doesn't have an attendance zone of its own, so living nearby doesn't guarantee a seat here. Families apply on MySchools, and seats go to the school's priority groups first, then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank this school with your zoned school, if you have one, and any others you'd take — in true preference order.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. Ella Baker School admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- The Ella Baker SchoolUnscreened20 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 Ella Baker School a good school?
- On Motley, Ella Baker School earns an overall rating of 66/100 — 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 Ella Baker School serve?
- Ella Baker School serves grades Pre-K to 8.
- How do students get into Ella Baker School?
- Ella Baker School admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is Ella Baker School public, charter, or private?
- Ella Baker School is a public school in NYC Community School District 2.
- What neighborhood is Ella Baker School in?
- Ella Baker School is in Upper East Side-Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island, Manhattan.