At a Glance
A large, screened middle school in eastern Queens where math scores have nearly doubled since 2016 and a deep extracurricular menu keeps teens engaged after the bell.
Best suited for
Families in eastern Queens who want a large, screened middle school with real academic momentum, a deep extracurricular lineup, and clear high-school-prep pathways, and who can handle a bus-or-drive commute.
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
- Math proficiency has climbed from 31% in 2016 to 49% in 2025 — a remarkable turnaround for a school this size.
- A program-rich offering (scored 100/100) that includes chess, coding, debate, dance, guitar, and specialized high school test prep.
- Teacher trust and instruction-quality ratings are notably above district averages, signaling strong internal culture.
- A genuinely diverse student body where no single racial group forms a majority.
- Screened admissions plus a district G&T track give motivated students a clear academic runway.
Things to consider
- ELA proficiency is below the district average and has softened from its 2022 peak of nearly 59%.
- Chronic absenteeism at 66% is high and worth asking the school about directly.
- Last year's 16 suspensions (2% rate) are well above the district average and a step up from the 2021-22 baseline.
- No subway within walking distance — most families will bus or drive.
- Parent satisfaction sits just below the district average, and the family survey response rate was only 19%, so the number reflects a self-selecting group.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 29
Within District 29, Jean Nuzzi sits below its listed peer middle schools on the overall score — the Success Academy charters lead the way, with P.S. 176 Cambria Heights the strongest traditional public option at 81/100. It's a solid mid-pack public-school choice rather than a district standout.
Academics
ELA proficiency of 49.7% trails the district average of about 57%, and math at 49% sits a few points below the district's 53.7%. The long view is more encouraging: math has climbed from 31% in 2016 to 49% this year, with the steepest gains coming after 2022. ELA rose from 35% to a 2022 peak of nearly 59% before easing back into the low 50s the past two years. Science proficiency at 52.5% is a relative bright spot. The pattern is one of a school on a clear upward trajectory overall, though the recent ELA dip is worth keeping an eye on.
Culture
Day-to-day, this feels like a stable, internally confident school. Teacher trust in leadership runs high (93% teacher-principal trust, 94% collegial trust), and 96% of teachers rate their own instruction quality positively — well above the district average of 88%. Parent satisfaction at 88% is slightly below the district's 91%, but parent-principal trust is a healthy 90%. The two numbers families will want to scrutinize: chronic absenteeism is high at 66%, and suspensions ticked up to 16 last year after a quieter 2021-22. Both are reminders that even schools with strong internal culture face real attendance and behavior headwinds at the middle-school age.
Community
The student body is genuinely mixed — about 36% Asian, 34% Black, 19% Hispanic, 8% Native American, and 3% White — a diversity index of 78% with no single group making up a majority. That mix doesn't fully mirror Queens Village's profile, which skews older and more established. About 14% of students have IEPs, and the school runs both ELL support and a district G&T program, so it's serving a wide range of learners. The economic need index of 63 means a majority of students come from lower-income households, even as the surrounding neighborhood is solidly middle-class.
Neighborhood
Queens Village is a stable, owner-occupied pocket of eastern Queens — roughly 73% of residents own their homes, and the median home value sits around $633,000. Household incomes are healthy at just over $98,000, and the poverty rate is well under 10%. Only 16% of households here have kids, which means the neighborhood skews older and more settled than many other parts of Queens. Reach here is part of the deal: schools in this part of the borough draw families who are willing to commit to the commute.
No subway stations sit within a 20-minute walk, so most families reach the school by bus or car.
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) · 164 families responded (19% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
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. Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School admits through 2 programs, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School 109Unscreened288 seats
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School 109 Gifted & Talented ProgramScreened26 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.
- 2Screened programs rank 4th-grade course grades, so last year's report card is the one that counts.
- 3Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 4Rank 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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School a good school?
- On Motley, Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School earns an overall rating of 49/100 — 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 29 average.
- What grades does Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School serve?
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School?
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School is a screened school — it admits by application, ranking applicants on their course grades (4th grade for middle school, the 7th-grade core-course average for high school); a few schools add an assessment, writing sample, or interview.
- Is Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School public, charter, or private?
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School is a public school in NYC Community School District 29.
- What neighborhood is Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School in?
- Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School is in Queens Village, Queens.