Muscota

Muscota's proficiency numbers are substantially above district averages: ELA at 80.8% compared to the district's 47.1%, and math at 74.8% versus 52.1%. The overall framework score of 3.11/4 is also well above the district average of 1.98/4. Test scores trended upward from 2016 through 2019, dipped sharply in 2022 (67.3% ELA, 62.6% math) during the pandemic recovery period, and have climbed back — 2025 ELA is the school's highest on record at 80.8%, while math has been the steadier of the two subjects, holding above 73% in three of the past four years. One wrinkle worth flagging: scores dip noticeably in Grade 4 (63.4% ELA, 66.7% math) before bouncing back in Grade 5 (90.9% ELA), suggesting a cohort or transition effect that parents of younger kids may want to ask about.

The day-to-day feel here reads calm and parent-connected. Parent-principal trust sits at 99%, parent-teacher trust at 97%, and zero suspensions have been recorded in any of the past three years — a meaningful marker for an elementary. Teachers give 100% marks on instruction quality and safety, though only 12 teachers responded to the survey, so that signal is from a small slice of staff. Parent satisfaction at 90% is solid but actually slightly below the district average of 94%, hinting at a few rough edges families notice. The elephant in the room is chronic absenteeism: 83.6% of students miss 10% or more of school days, even though the average attendance rate is a healthy 94.3%. The two numbers aren't contradictory — high average daily attendance can coexist with a large share of students who rack up extended absences — but they suggest Muscota has a real attendance challenge worth probing on a tour.

Muscota's 245 students are roughly split between White (42%) and Hispanic (41%) enrollment, with smaller shares of multiracial (9%), Asian (4%), and Black (3%) students, and a diversity index of 68%. The economic need index of 36 indicates a relatively less economically stressed population than the citywide average, which lines up with Inwood's mix of long-time residents and younger families priced out of neighborhoods further south. Twenty-one percent of students have IEPs, a meaningful share that suggests the school is serving a range of learners.

Inwood sits at Manhattan's northern tip, with a median household income of about $63,123 and a poverty rate of 15.4% — modest by Manhattan standards but still the kind of place where teachers and families mix at the same grocery stores. Forty percent of neighborhood adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, and homeownership is low at 9.2%, which is more typical of rent-heavy outer-borough and uptown Manhattan census tracts. Households with children make up 15.2% of the area, so Muscota draws from a family pool that is present but not dominant.

Three subway stops sit within a six-minute walk: the A at Dyckman St (about 4 minutes), the A at Inwood-207 St (about 5 minutes), and the 1 at 207 St (about 6 minutes) — about as transit-rich as any elementary school in the borough.