J.H.S. 226 Virgil I. Grissom

ELA proficiency at 39.1% and math at 42.4% both trail the district averages (about 56% and 57% respectively) by a meaningful margin — students here are catching up, not leading. The trend, though, is the more important story: ELA has climbed from 26.4% in 2016 and math from 17.6%, with especially sharp gains since 2022. Seventh-grade math is a particular bright spot at 53%, suggesting something is clicking for the cohort that arrived after the pandemic dip.

The school culture reads as a study in contrasts: teachers give instruction quality a 97% rating and report near-universal trust in their principal and colleagues, yet 60.5% of students are chronically absent — a strikingly high figure that would make most parents pause. Discipline is another thing to know about: the suspension rate of 2% is four times the district average, though the total number of suspensions has been flat for two years rather than climbing.

The 874 students reflect one of the most diverse middle schools in the borough: 29% Black, 28% Asian, 23% Hispanic, and an unusually large 17% Native American population alongside smaller shares of White and multiracial students. The economic need index of 70.5 indicates a working- and middle-class majority, with 22% of students having IEPs and ELL support available.

South Ozone Park is a solidly middle-class, family-dense neighborhood — about 20.2% of households have children under 18, the homeownership rate is 69.1%, and the median home value sits around $652,000. Median household income is roughly $98,000 with a relatively low poverty rate of 10.5%, though only about a fifth of adults here hold a bachelor's degree.

Getting here without a car is a real commitment: the nearest subway is the Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd A train, about an 18-minute walk from the school.