Fort Hill Collaborative Elementary School

Both ELA (37.5%) and math (46.9%) proficiency are well below the district averages of about 61% in each subject, and the overall score of 1.69 out of 4 trails the district's 2.45. The trend line, though, is the more interesting story: math collapsed to 15.5% in 2022 and has since climbed to 46.9%, and ELA has recovered from a 22.6% low to 37.5%. Grade 5 math at 57.1% is the school's strongest result and suggests gains compound as students move through. This is a school catching up, not a school leading — but it is catching up fast.

Inside the building, the climate reads warm and trusting: 100% of teachers rate instructional quality and principal trust highly, and parent-principal trust sits at 99%. The flip side is chronic absenteeism at 53.3%, well above the district norm, and a teacher-reported safety score of 80% — meaningfully below the district's 94.8%. Discipline is essentially a non-issue, with zero suspensions over the last three years. The day-to-day feel seems to be a safe, relationship-driven environment for kids who show up, paired with a real attendance challenge the school is clearly working on.

Fort Hill's 202 students are predominantly Hispanic (59%) and Black (22%), with smaller White, multiracial, Asian, and Native American populations — a diversity index of 67%. The economic need index of 88 signals a high-poverty student body, and 35% of students have IEPs, which is well above typical and points to real inclusion work. The neighborhood around the school is working- and middle-income, with a median household income around $73,000 and a 19.5% poverty rate, so the school serves families with wider economic range than the building's demographics alone suggest.

St. George-New Brighton sits on Staten Island's North Shore, just inland from the St. George Ferry Terminal. Census figures show a working-class, mostly renting community (35% homeownership) where about a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree and only 13% of households include children — meaning families with school-age kids are a noticeable minority here. The neighborhood draws working families across a mix of incomes, and the area's population skews younger than Staten Island's south-shore suburbs.

Three Staten Island Railway stops serve the school: Tompkinsville is about a 7-minute walk, St George about 9 minutes, and Stapleton about 17 minutes.