M.S. 297

M.S. 297 trails District 2 by a wide margin. ELA proficiency of 43.8% sits roughly 29 percentage points below the district average of 73.2%, and math proficiency of 37.3% is about 35 points behind the district's 72.5%. Science proficiency is 23.7%. The trajectory is the more troubling part: ELA proficiency climbed from 64.8% in 2018 to a 2022 peak of 71.2%, then dropped to 49.2% in 2024 and 43.8% in 2025. Math has declined every year since 2019, falling from 60.4% to 37.3%. The school's overall quality score of 1.62 out of 4 is well below the district average of 2.91, placing it firmly in the lower band of District 2 middle schools.

Day-to-day life at M.S. 297 is shaped by an attendance problem that is unusually severe. The 84.3% attendance rate lags the district average of 91.95%, and 45.1% of students are chronically absent — meaning they miss more than 10% of the school year. The picture is uneven across groups: Asian students (88.5%), White students (65.2%), and Black students (56.1%) all post very high chronic-absence rates, while Hispanic students (28.9%) are notably lower. On the upside, parent satisfaction is solid at 84% (below the district's 92.1%) and parent-principal trust reaches 95%. Teachers give the principal a 73% trust rating and rate their own collegial trust at 95%, but only 76% feel instruction quality is strong, compared to nearly 90% district-wide. Discipline is moving in a positive direction: suspensions fell from 22 in 2021-22 to 17 in 2022-23 to 9 in 2023-24, though the 3% suspension rate is still well above the district's 0.3%.

The student body at M.S. 297 is more diverse than the West Village around it. About 42% of students are White, 30% Hispanic, 13% Black, 9% Asian, and 6% multi-racial — a diversity index of 78%, well above what you'd expect from a neighborhood that is 84% college-educated and where the median household income tops $150,000. The economic need index of 42.6 indicates a meaningful share of students from lower-income households, and 21% of students have IEPs. ELL support is available, suggesting the school serves newcomer English learners. PTA fundraising totaled $132,500 last year, or about $219 per student — less than half the district average of $516 per student.

The West Village is one of Manhattan's wealthiest and most established neighborhoods, with a median household income around $150,000, a poverty rate of just 6.6%, and a homeownership rate under 30% in a market where the median home value exceeds $1.3 million. Only about 6.4% of households include children, which is part of why local schools like M.S. 297 draw families from a wider geographic net. Eighty-four percent of adult residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, reflecting the literary, artistic, and professional character of the area.

Getting to school is straightforward on foot or by subway: the Houston St 1 train is about a 5-minute walk, Christopher St-Stonewall on the 1 line is roughly 6 minutes, and the Spring St station on the C and E is about 8 minutes away.