John Bowne High School

School-level proficiency figures aren't broken out in this dataset, but the program profile speaks clearly: AP courses are offered, four screened academies run concurrently, and admission to the STEM, Law, and Creative Arts tracks is competitive enough to function as a real academic filter. Class size sits at 24.7 — exactly at the district average — so students aren't getting unusually small sections. What families are really choosing here is breadth of pathway rather than smaller-than-average cohorts, and the demand numbers (a 10% offer rate for STEM, 12.5% for Law) suggest the school is comfortable with that selectivity.

Surveys paint a mixed but generally positive picture. Teachers rate instructional quality at 94%, well above the district's 89.6% average, suggesting strong classroom practice. But teacher trust in the principal is the lowest trust number in the dataset at 83%, while parent-principal trust is among the highest at 96% — a common gap in large high schools where faculty and families see leadership through different lenses. Parent satisfaction registers 91%, a touch below the district's 93.7%, though only 5% of families responded (141 out of roughly 3,000 households), so that number should be read with caution. The most striking climate data point is zero suspensions last cycle — notable for a school this size.

The student body is 46% Hispanic, 28% Asian, 18% Black, and 5% White — broadly reflecting Kew Gardens Hills' mix, with a notably large Asian-American presence for a District 25 school. The economic need index of 76.8 (where higher means greater need) is on the higher side for the district, signaling a larger share of low-income students than many suburban-feeling Queens high schools draw. 17% of students have IEPs, above the citywide norm and worth noting for families who care about special-education resources.

Kew Gardens Hills is a low-rise, suburban-flavor Queens neighborhood where more than half of households own their homes and the median home value sits around $564,000. Median household income is roughly $84,700 — squarely middle-class by city standards — and 48% of adult residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. About a quarter of households include children, which helps explain why a high school this large can sustain the kind of program breadth Bowne offers.

No subway stations sit within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families should plan around MTA buses, driving, or student drop-off rather than a direct train commute.