P.S. 019 The Curtis School

For years P.S. 019 sat well below the district's roughly 61% proficiency mark — ELA was in the 23-34% range from 2016 to 2024, and math hovered in the 20s and low 40s. Then 2025 happened: ELA shot to 52.4% and math to 52.6%, a single-year leap of roughly 26 points in ELA and 12 points in math. That still leaves the school below the district averages of about 61% in both subjects and a 2.1 overall quality score versus the district's 2.45, but it's a fundamentally different trajectory. Grade 3 math stands at a strong 71%, while grade 4 math lags at 33.8% — suggesting the gains are stronger at the lower grades. Whether this is a durable turnaround or a one-year surge is the question every parent should be asking.

The vibe at P.S. 019 is unusually warm by the numbers. Parents give the school a 95% satisfaction rating (above the district's 93%) and an extraordinary 98% trust score for both their children's teachers and the principal. Every surveyed family said the school fosters strong relationships — a literal 100%. Teachers rate instruction quality at 95% and feel collegial with one another at 89%, well above norms. The one friction point is teacher-principal trust at 72%, meaningfully lower than the parent side, suggesting leadership may communicate better with families than with staff. There have been zero suspensions for three straight years and teachers rate safety at 95%.

P.S. 019 serves a predominantly Hispanic community — 78% of students identify that way, with Black students at 9%, White at 6%, and Asian at 5%. The school's diversity index of 46% is moderate, reflecting a mostly Latino student body rather than a true mix. Twenty-seven percent of students have IEPs, well above the city norm, and the economic need index of 82.2 confirms that most families here are working-class. PTA fundraising lands at just $39 per student, less than a third of the district's $141 average — a real constraint on what the school can offer beyond public funding.

Port Richmond is a working-class stretch of Staten Island's North Shore where about 22% of households live in poverty and median household income sits at $74,560 — lower than the borough-wide norm. Only 17.7% of households include children, and roughly a quarter of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher. About half of residents own their homes (median value $485,918), which means the other half are renters tied to the local housing market. The neighborhood skews family-oriented in places but has its share of economic pressure.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of P.S. 019. Families here rely on cars, school buses, and the Staten Island Railway / express bus connections that serve the broader North Shore — this is a bus-and-drive neighborhood, not a transit-walk school.