At a Glance
A family-driven Bellerose elementary where engaged parents and steady improvement outweigh a few rough patches
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want an engaged parent community, a stable elementary progression, and are comfortable with car-based drop-off in a quiet, residential pocket of Queens.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Exceptional parent engagement: 92% satisfaction, 97% trust in teachers, and an 80% family survey response rate
- PTA raises roughly $170 per student — nearly double the district average
- A meaningful 2025 academic rebound, with ELA jumping nearly 9 points year-over-year
- Scores climb as students move up grades — fifth graders hit 78.8% in both ELA and math
- Zero suspensions sustained over three consecutive years
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 83% is well above typical and worth asking the school about
- Teacher-reported safety (81%) trails the district average (97.7%) by a wide margin — a real gap, even if parent-reported trust is high
- ELA and math proficiency both sit a few points below district averages
- No subway access within walking distance — most families will drive or take the bus
- The third-grade cohort starts behind peers elsewhere in the district, even though scores improve by fifth grade
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 26
District 26 is one of NYC's strongest elementary districts, and P.S. 018 sits below that high bar — its 2.95 overall trails the district's 3.12 average. Top peers like P.S. 98 Douglaston and P.S. 94 David D. Porter score in the low-to-mid 90s, putting P.S. 018 more in the middle of the pack than near the top.
Academics
The 2025 proficiency rates — 72.3% in ELA and 75% in math — both fall below District 26 averages (roughly 76% ELA, 80% math), but the trajectory is encouraging. ELA climbed nearly nine points from 63.2% in 2024 to 72.3% in 2025, the strongest showing in nearly a decade. Math has held steady in the mid-70s for several years. Notably, scores rise as students progress: fifth graders hit 78.8% in both subjects, while third graders sit at 66.7% in ELA. This pattern suggests the school is doing solid work building skills over time.
Culture
The climate picture is mixed. On the bright side: parent satisfaction is 92%, parent-teacher trust hits 97%, and an impressive 80% of families completed the survey — engagement is clearly high. There have been zero suspensions for three years running. But two numbers give parents pause. Chronic absenteeism sits at 83%, well above typical levels and a real concern for instructional consistency. And teacher-reported safety is 81%, well below the district's 97.7% — suggesting teachers themselves don't feel as secure as their peers elsewhere in District 26. Teacher trust in the principal also trails at 80%.
Community
P.S. 018's 419 students are majority Asian (57%), with Hispanic (18%), Black (11%), and White (11%) populations making up most of the rest. The surrounding Bellerose neighborhood skews middle-class and family-oriented: median household income is just over $103,000, homeownership is nearly 70%, and about 23% of households include children. The PTA pulls in roughly $170 per student — nearly double the district average of $96 — reflecting a family base that shows up and invests.
Neighborhood
Bellerose is a quiet, primarily residential pocket of eastern Queens where most households own their homes (nearly 70%) and the median home value sits around $637,000. Median household income is about $104,000 and only 8.3% of residents live below the poverty line, placing the area solidly middle-class. About a quarter of households include children, giving the school a stable family base. It's the kind of place where families plant roots.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk, so most families get to school by car or bus.
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) · 336 families responded (80% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 018 Winchester also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 018 Winchester has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 018 Winchester a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 018 Winchester earns an overall rating of 74/100 — 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 in line with the District 26 average.
- What grades does P.S. 018 Winchester serve?
- P.S. 018 Winchester serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 018 Winchester?
- P.S. 018 Winchester admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 018 Winchester public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 018 Winchester is a public school in NYC Community School District 26.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 018 Winchester in?
- P.S. 018 Winchester is in Bellerose, Queens.