I.S. 027 Anning S. Prall

Both ELA (51.9%) and math (47.5%) proficiency sit well below the District 31 averages of about 61% in each subject, and the school's overall quality score of 1.99/4 trails the district's 2.45. Science proficiency is especially weak at 20%. That said, the trajectory is genuinely improving: in 2016, ELA was 39.2% and math was 31.1% — so over a decade, math proficiency has climbed roughly 16 percentage points and ELA has gained about 13. The 2025 math jump to 47.5% (from 38% in 2024) is the strongest single-year gain in recent memory. Seventh-graders outperform their 6th- and 8th-grade peers in both subjects, suggesting students may gain ground in the middle year before slipping again before high school.

There is a striking split between how families and staff experience this school. Parent satisfaction is 92% and parent trust in teachers (91%) and the principal (89%) is strong — nearly matching the district average. But teachers rate instructional quality at 81% (vs. 93% district-wide) and, most notably, only 31% say they trust the principal — a number that should give any parent pause. The suspension rate of 3% is roughly seven times the district average of 0.4%, though total suspensions have been roughly stable (29–32 per year) rather than escalating. Day-to-day, this reads as a school where parents feel heard but the staff-leadership relationship is strained, and where the classroom experience may be more uneven than the family-facing communication implies.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic (45%) with significant Black (20%), white (20%), and Asian (12%) populations, giving the school a diversity index of 77%. About 27% of students have IEPs — a notably high share — and 68% of students qualify for economic need, considerably higher than what the local housing market would suggest. The school serves a more working-class and economically diverse population than the surrounding neighborhood, which leans middle-to-upper-middle income. ELL support is offered, and the school is large enough to run separate programs for students at many different levels.

The school sits in the West New Brighton–Silver Lake–Grymes Hill area of Staten Island, an established, relatively affluent residential pocket. Median household income is around $109,000, the poverty rate is just 10%, and 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. About 57% of homes are owner-occupied and the median home value is roughly $640,000 — well above city norms. Only 24% of households have children, suggesting many neighbors are empty-nesters or older families, which means the school draws students from a wider area than just the immediate blocks.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk — this is Staten Island, where nearly every family drives, is dropped off, or takes an express bus. Plan on car-based logistics for almost everything school-related.