Marsh Avenue School for Expeditionary Learning

ELA proficiency at 63.4% sits a hair above the district average of 61.3%, while math at 59.3% is a tick below the district's 61% — so Marsh is a balanced performer, not a standout in either direction. The longer arc from 2016 to 2024 showed genuine improvement (ELA rose from 57% to nearly 68%, math climbed from 57% to 67.5%), but both subjects dropped meaningfully in 2025, suggesting a rough recent year worth asking about. One striking internal pattern: sixth-graders test far below seventh- and eighth-graders (52.6% ELA and 45.9% math vs. 71% and 69% in 8th grade), which often signals a tough middle-school transition year or a cohort effect rather than a school-wide weakness.

The day-to-day picture is mixed and worth unpacking. Parents are clearly happy — 91% satisfaction, 96% trust in teachers, 97% trust in the principal — and suspensions are nearly nonexistent (just 2 all year, a 0% rate that beats the district average). But the teacher side tells a different story: only 42% of teachers say they trust the principal, and teacher-rated instruction quality at 90% trails the district's 93%. The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism at 70.6% — meaning roughly 7 in 10 students missed 10% or more of the school year — with White (76%) and Asian (84.7%) students driving those numbers, which is unusual and suggests a school-wide attendance culture issue rather than a poverty-driven one.

The student body is 45% White, 32% Hispanic, 16% Asian, and 5% Black, with a diversity index of 70% and an economic need index of 44.8 — meaning the school is more affluent than the citywide average but not wealthy. Twenty-two percent of students have IEPs, and there's an ELL support program for the multilingual families in the mix. The surrounding neighborhood's median household income of $98,222 and 76% homeownership rate signal stability, and the school's demographics roughly track that profile, though the Hispanic share at Marsh (32%) is higher than you might expect from the census alone.

New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis is a low-density residential stretch of Staten Island where most families own their homes (76% ownership, median value around $641,000) and about a quarter of households have kids under 18. The poverty rate of 10.5% is well below the city average, and the 34% college-educated share points to a stable, commuter-belt population. This is a car-first neighborhood — there's no subway within a 20-minute walk of the school, and Staten Island's bus network plus family carpools are how most kids get to class.

The school is beyond walking distance of any subway station — families drive or rely on Staten Island's local bus network to get here.