I.S. 093 Ridgewood

Test scores sit well below district averages: 35.2% ELA proficiency versus 51.1% citywide in District 24, and 30.7% math versus 54.8%. The harder story is the trajectory — ELA peaked at 50.7% in 2022 and has since dropped to 35.2%, while math fell from a high of 43.2% in 2019 to 30.7% this year. Science proficiency at 23.1% is similarly low. By grade, 8th-grade math is the weakest point at 23.4%, suggesting students leave middle school underprepared for algebra-level work.

The climate numbers are striking on nearly every dimension except attendance: parent satisfaction at 94%, parent-principal trust at 96%, teacher-principal trust at 98%, and teacher-rated instruction quality at 97% all beat the district average. The school has logged zero suspensions for three consecutive years — uncommon for a middle school this size — and the 73% family survey response rate signals real engagement. The clear weak spot is chronic absenteeism at 66.5%, affecting two-thirds of students, with Asian students at 86.8% and White students at 71.6% showing the highest rates.

I.S. 093 enrolls about 1,020 students who are 75% Hispanic, 17% White, 6% Asian, and 2% Black — a moderately diverse body by the diversity index (46%) that's anchored by a large Latino majority. An economic need index of 71.9 reflects widespread household financial pressure, and 20% of students have IEPs, so classrooms span a wide range of learners. Ridgewood itself is a working-class neighborhood with a $83,559 median household income and only 20% homeownership, so the school draws from families who, despite rising home values, are largely renters making the most of a tight market.

Ridgewood sits along the Queens-Brooklyn border, where a $1 million-plus median home value signals how much the area has changed in recent years. About 17% of households have children under 18, and just over a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree — modest for New York City. Median household income of $83,559 and a 12.6% poverty rate put the neighborhood in the city's broad middle, with a renter-majority population that the school reflects. The M train pulls right up to the campus, which makes car-free drop-offs the norm for many families.

Getting here is genuinely easy — the Forest Avenue M stop is about a 2-minute walk, with Seneca Avenue (about 7 minutes) and Fresh Pond Road (about 8 minutes) also on the M line within easy reach.