At a Glance
A full K-12 charter on Staten Island with unusually high parent trust and a clear upward academic trend
Best suited for
Families who want their child to stay in one school from kindergarten through 12th grade — and especially those with IEP needs — and who weigh strong parent-school relationships over top-in-district test scores will likely find the trade-off worth considering.
Overall Rating
Grades 3–8
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
High school
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- One of very few Staten Island schools offering K through 12 in a single building, so families don't have to switch schools for middle or high school.
- Parent trust at 95% (both with teachers and the principal) is near the ceiling, an unusually strong signal in a district where averages are already high.
- 36% of students have IEPs — well above typical — making it a real option for families seeking strong special-education services in a charter setting.
- Clear upward academic trend over the last two years, with ELA and math proficiency both at their highest in the available data.
Things to consider
- Math proficiency in Grade 8 is 10.2%, a serious weak spot that families of older students should ask specifically about.
- Chronic absenteeism is 62%, meaning most students miss enough school to qualify — a real daily rhythm issue, not a number to gloss over.
- Teachers rate classroom instruction quality at 84%, well below the district average of 93%, even as safety and trust ratings are high.
- No subway access means this is effectively a car-or-bus commute school, which can lengthen the daily routine.
- Overall proficiency scores sit far below the top peer schools in District 31, where several neighborhood zoned schools score in the high 80s and 90s.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 31
Among District 31 schools, Lavelle Prep sits well below the top performers — peer zoned schools like P.S. 35 (99/100) and Naples Street Elementary (97/100) score dramatically higher on overall quality — and below the district average overall score of 2.45/4 (Lavelle is 1.42). It's a charter alternative in a borough where most families stick with their zoned public schools, and its main appeal is the K-through-12 continuity and parent experience rather than top-tier academic results.
Academics
ELA proficiency is 37.9% and math is 33.2%, both roughly 23-28 percentage points below the District 31 averages around 61% — students here are catching up, not leading. The trajectory, though, is the most encouraging part of the data: scores climbed from 27.2% ELA and 15% math in 2022 to last year's peaks, the strongest results in the dataset. The picture inside the building is uneven — Grade 3 hits 49% ELA and 57% math, but Grade 8 math collapses to just 10%, and upper grades generally trail the elementary ones.
Culture
Daily attendance is 90.5%, just shy of the district 91.4%, but chronic absenteeism is high at 62% — a lot of kids are missing enough school to matter. The bright side is how families experience the school: 93% parent satisfaction, 95% trust in teachers and 95% trust in the principal are exceptional, and teachers report 97% safety, above the district average. The warning sign is teachers rating instruction quality at 84%, well below the 93% district average, which suggests room to grow on what happens inside the classroom.
Community
The student body is mostly Black (44%) and Hispanic (42%), with smaller White, Asian, multiracial, and Native American shares, and an economic need index of 74.6 signals a high share of students from lower-income households. IEP enrollment is 36% — meaningfully above typical — so this is a school that takes in a lot of students with special needs. The mismatch with the surrounding neighborhood is notable: New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis has a $98K median income, 76% homeownership, and a 10.5% poverty rate, a more middle-class profile than the school's enrollment would suggest.
Neighborhood
New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis is a family-dense slice of Staten Island where most households own their homes and about a quarter have children under 18. The neighborhood has a middle-class base — median household income of $98K and a 34% bachelor's-or-higher rate — and a relatively low poverty rate. It's a place built around car commutes more than transit, and homes run a median of around $641K.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families and staff rely on cars, school buses, or local buses to get here.
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
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) · 344 families responded (40% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Economic Need & Special Populations
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School a good school?
- On Motley, John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School earns an overall rating of 36/100 — 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 31 average. Its high school grades have their own rating, 59/100, from graduation and Regents results.
- What grades does John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School serve?
- John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School serves grades K to 12.
- How do students get into John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School?
- John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School is a charter school — it admits through a free public lottery, with no test or attendance zone.
- Is John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School public, charter, or private?
- John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School is a public charter school in NYC Community School District 31.
- What neighborhood is John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School in?
- John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School is in New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis, Staten Island.