I.S. 024 Myra S. Barnes

Both ELA (70.7%) and math (73.8%) proficiency run roughly 10 points above District 31 averages, and math has shown one of the more dramatic improvement arcs in the borough — climbing from 43.4% in 2016 to 73.8% in 2025. ELA also rose sharply from 49.5% in 2016 but has bounced in recent years (75.2% in 2022, 66.3% in 2024, 70.7% in 2025), suggesting some volatility that math has avoided. Science proficiency at 57.4% is solid for the grade band. Grade 7 leads the way in math at 81.1%, with Grade 6 trailing at 63.4% — worth noting for incoming families.

Day-to-day, this is a high-trust environment. Teacher trust in the principal (97%), parent trust in the principal (97%), and parent-teacher trust (94%) all signal a school where adults are aligned. Teacher-reported instructional quality is 98% — five points above the district — and discipline is minimal, with just 3 suspensions last year and none in three of the most recent reporting years. Daily attendance is healthy at 94%, well above the district's 91.4%. One number parents should weigh carefully: chronic absenteeism is 79.6%, meaning roughly four out of five students miss 10% or more of school days. That figure is high enough to be a meaningful flag despite the strong daily turnout.

The student body is 65% White, 14% Asian, 17% Hispanic, and 2% Black, with a diversity index of 56% — more homogeneous than a typical NYC middle school but still meaningfully mixed. The economic need index of 35.9% points to a relatively low-poverty population, and the demographics closely mirror the surrounding Great Kills-Eltingville neighborhood, where the median household income is about $120,000 and 80.5% of households are owner-occupied. About 24% of students have IEPs, which is on the higher side and signals real inclusion work happening on campus. ELL support is available, though the ELL population is small.

Great Kills-Eltingville is a family-dense, suburban-feeling pocket of Staten Island where roughly a quarter of households have kids under 18, homeownership is dominant, and the poverty rate is well below the city average. The neighborhood skews educated — 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — and the median home value north of $639,000 reflects its stability. It's the kind of place where families tend to put down roots and kids grow up knowing their neighbors.

Most families arrive by car or school bus, but the Great Kills SIR station is about an 11-minute walk and the Bay Terrace SIR station is about 18 minutes away for those commuting from elsewhere on the island.