P.S. 016 John J. Driscoll

PS 16's 2025 proficiency rates (45.3% ELA, 43.2% math) remain well below district averages of 61% in both subjects, so this is still a school where students are catching up rather than leading. The more striking story is the trajectory: after a pandemic-era low of 11–17% in 2022, both subjects have climbed sharply, with 2025 representing the strongest results in at least a decade of available data. Grade 5 students in particular posted 58.8% ELA and 67.9% math proficiency — notably stronger than Grade 3 (35.9% ELA, 20.9% math), which may reflect the upper grades benefiting most from recent efforts.

The climate data tells a story of two different realities. On the community side, parent satisfaction (94%), parent-principal trust (93%), and strong-relationships scores (96%) all land at or above district averages, and teachers report 100% on instruction quality and trust in leadership — unusually high marks. The flip side is chronic absenteeism at 58.6%, well above what the 89.5% attendance rate would suggest is typical, meaning more than half of students are missing enough school to be flagged. Discipline is essentially a non-issue, with zero to one suspension per year.

Of the school's 433 students, 61% are Hispanic and 26% are Black, with smaller Asian (5%), White (6%), and multiracial (1%) shares — a notably more diverse mix than Staten Island's borough-wide average. The economic need index of 91.3% means nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and 25% have IEPs. The surrounding neighborhood skews more working-class and renter-heavy than typical Island tracts, and the school's demographics reflect that mix closely.

St. George-New Brighton is one of Staten Island's more urban, transit-accessible neighborhoods, with a $73K median income, 19.5% poverty rate, and just 35% homeownership — distinctly more renter-heavy and lower-income than most Island census tracts. About a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and 13% of households have children. Three SIR stations sit within walking distance, which is unusual for Staten Island and makes car-free drop-offs and pickups genuinely possible here.

Three SIR stations serve the area: Tompkinsville is about a 7-minute walk, St. George is roughly 9 minutes, and Stapleton is about 17 minutes on foot.