Grover Cleveland High School

Grover Cleveland offers a genuinely rich academic menu — AP courses, Dual Language instruction, STEM tracks, and five specialized pathways ranging from Hospitality and Tourism to Music and Fine Arts. Demand for these pathways is strong: the Music and Fine Arts pathway drew 282 applicants for just 43 seats (a 14.3% offer rate), while Information Technology pulled 308 applicants for 87 seats, making it the largest and most sought-after. School-specific proficiency rates aren't included in this dataset, so direct comparison to the district's roughly 51% ELA and 55% Math averages isn't possible here — but the program structure and pathway demand suggest students who apply themselves have meaningful options.

The standout figure here is zero suspensions — a remarkable result for a school of nearly 1,500 students and one that points to a non-punitive, restorative approach to discipline. Parent satisfaction sits at 94%, with parent-teacher and parent-principal trust both in the mid-90s, suggesting families feel heard and respected. Teacher-reported trust in school leadership is notably lower at 85% — a real gap compared to the very high family trust numbers — and only 69 teachers responded to the survey, which may mean that figure reflects a subset of staff rather than the full picture.

Grover Cleveland's student body is 68% Hispanic, 17% White, 8% Asian, 5% Black, and 1% Native American, with a diversity index of 53% — meaningfully more varied than many NYC high schools. The economic need index of 76.7% indicates a majority of students come from low-income households, while 22% of students have IEPs, signaling a sizable and supported special education population. The school's demographic mix mirrors Ridgewood's character as a working- and middle-class neighborhood with deep immigrant roots.

Ridgewood sits along the Brooklyn-Queens border, and Grover Cleveland's surrounding census tract reflects a mix of longtime families and newer arrivals. Median household income is around $83,500 with a 12.6% poverty rate, and just 17.2% of households include children — typical of a neighborhood with many young professionals and renters (homeownership is only 20.4%). Median home values above $1 million reflect the broader NYC housing market even in this diverse, family-rooted pocket where 35.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree.

Families without cars should plan ahead: the closest subways are the M at Seneca Av or Forest Av, each about a 13-minute walk, and the L at DeKalb Av, about a 15-minute walk.