At a Glance
A neighborhood middle school in eastern Queens where families are loyal and trust runs deep — but academic and attendance challenges are real.
Best suited for
Families who live within driving or bus distance and want a small, diverse community with strong family-principal relationships, ELL support, and an honors track — and who are prepared to be active partners around attendance and academics.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Parent-principal trust is among the strongest in the district at 97%.
- Teachers rate the school's instruction quality (93%) above the district average.
- An Accelerated/Honors academic track is available alongside ELL support.
- The student body is genuinely diverse, with no single racial or ethnic group forming a majority.
- With just 328 students, the school is small enough that families and students tend to know each other.
Things to consider
- ELA and math proficiency sit roughly 30 points below the district average — a substantial gap.
- Nearly 60% of students are chronically absent, which is a serious barrier to academic growth.
- The suspension rate (3%) is twelve times the district average and trended sharply upward last year.
- No subway access means this is realistically a school for families who live within driving or bus distance.
- PTA fundraising runs about $5 per student versus a district average near $50, leaving little budget for enrichment.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 25
District 25 is a strong Queens district — peer schools like P.S. 79 and BELL Academy score in the 80s and 90s — but this middle school sits well below the district average overall (1.3/4 vs 2.69/4). Families who want a stronger middle-school option in the area often consider screened programs like The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology.
Academics
About 35% of students reach proficiency in ELA and 30% in math — roughly half the District 25 averages of 65% and 70%, respectively. Science proficiency is even lower at 23%. ELA has trended downward over the past three years (41.6% in 2023 to 34.8% in 2025), and math scores have bounced erratically — from 18% in 2022 up to 39% in 2024 and back down to 30% in 2025 — with no clear upward trajectory. One bright spot: 8th graders score meaningfully better than 6th graders in ELA (43% vs 28%), suggesting students who stay engaged grow over time.
Culture
The school's climate is a study in contrasts. Parents trust the principal at near-unanimous levels (97%) and trust teachers (96%), and teacher-rated instruction quality (93%) actually beats the district average — a real vote of confidence from staff. But the attendance picture is stark: chronic absenteeism runs at nearly 60%, meaning well over half of students miss enough school to qualify, against an 89.9% overall attendance rate that already trails the district. Suspensions also jumped from 2 in each of the prior two years to 9 in 2023-24, pushing the suspension rate to 3% — twelve times the district average. The day-to-day feel seems warm and family-driven, but the school is wrestling with serious attendance and behavior headwinds.
Community
The student body is genuinely diverse: 40% Hispanic, 27% Black, 26% Asian, 6% White, and small multi-racial and Native American shares — a 73% diversity index. About a quarter of students have IEPs, well above typical citywide levels, and the school offers dedicated ELL support. The surrounding neighborhood is largely working- and middle-class, and an economic need index of 77.6 reflects that most students come from lower- or moderate-income households. With unscreened admissions, the school serves a true cross-section of Queens families rather than a selectively chosen cohort.
Neighborhood
Pomonok-Electchester-Hillcrest is a residential slice of the borough with a solid middle-class backbone — median household income around $77,000, nearly half of homes owner-occupied, and a median home value north of $760,000 that points to real equity for longtime residents. About a fifth of households have children, and roughly 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The neighborhood is decidedly car-dependent, so the school community is overwhelmingly local rather than commuter-driven.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families rely on driving, school buses, or local buses to get there.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 121 families responded (50% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School I.S. 250 (Federal Magnet Program)Unscreened116 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Compare head-to-head
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School a good school?
- On Motley, I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School earns an overall rating of 33/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run below the District 25 average.
- What grades does I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School serve?
- I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School?
- I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School public, charter, or private?
- I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School is a public school in NYC Community School District 25.
- What neighborhood is I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School in?
- I.S. 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School is in Pomonok-Electchester-Hillcrest, Queens.