At a Glance
An Asian-majority zoned elementary in car-dependent Fresh Meadows where strong parent trust outpaces academic results
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want a calm, relationship-driven environment and don't mind a car-based commute, particularly those who value parent-teacher closeness over top-of-the-district test results.
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
- Zero suspensions sustained over three consecutive years — a remarkable streak
- Parent-teacher trust at 96% is among the strongest you'll find anywhere
- 100% of teachers report feeling safe at school, above the district average
- 60% Asian student body reflects the surrounding neighborhood character
- 2025 test scores mark the strongest academic showing since 2019, suggesting real recovery momentum
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 75% is the single most important number in this profile — worth asking the school directly about it
- Test scores trail district averages by roughly 9 to 10 points in both ELA and math
- Teacher-principal trust at 82% is the lowest of the trust measures, hinting at some internal friction
- No subway access means every commute involves a car, bus, or pickup line
- Family survey response rate of 37% means the parent-voice data may not capture the full community
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 26
District 26's strongest peer schools land in the 90s on the composite scale, while P.S. 026's overall score of 2.72 places it below the district average of 3.12 — a middle-of-the-pack performer with a real gap to close against its neighbors.
Academics
ELA proficiency at 66.5% sits about 9 points below the district's 75.8% average, while math at 69.7% trails the district's 80.2% by roughly 10 points, and the overall score of 2.72 out of 4 is meaningfully behind the district's 3.12. The brighter note is that 2025 marks the strongest showing since 2019, with ELA bouncing back from a 56.8% low in 2024 and math recovering from 64.1%. Math has consistently outperformed ELA across the past decade, and grade-level proficiency runs fairly even from 3rd through 5th — there's no obvious weak link by grade.
Culture
Parent satisfaction (92%) matches the district, and parent-teacher trust (96%) along with parent-principal trust (94%) are unusually high — families here feel heard. Teachers report the building as 100% safe, edging the district's 97.7%. The tension lies in two places: teacher-principal trust sits at 82%, suggesting some friction between staff and leadership, and chronic absenteeism at 75% is far higher than any parent would want to see. The three-year zero-suspension streak tells you this is a school that runs on relationships, not discipline.
Community
The student body is 60% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 12% White, 8% Black, with small Multi-Racial and Native American shares — a diverse mix anchored by a clear Asian majority that mirrors the broader neighborhood. The economic need index of 58.2 indicates moderate financial pressure on families, which sits a bit at odds with the surrounding $96,000 median income. About 16% of students have IEPs, and PTA fundraising comes in slightly above the district average at $102 per student.
Neighborhood
Fresh Meadows-Utopia is a quiet, middle-class Queens neighborhood where roughly half of households own their homes and median home values push toward $980,000. A quarter of households have children, and nearly half of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — the kind of place where families plant roots for the long haul. Poverty is relatively low at 8.9%.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk, so families rely on cars, school buses, or local buses to get to and from school.
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) · 198 families responded (37% 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. 026 Rufus King 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. 026 Rufus King 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. 026 Rufus King a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 026 Rufus King earns an overall rating of 68/100 — 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 below the District 26 average.
- What grades does P.S. 026 Rufus King serve?
- P.S. 026 Rufus King serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 026 Rufus King?
- P.S. 026 Rufus King admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 026 Rufus King public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 026 Rufus King is a public school in NYC Community School District 26.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 026 Rufus King in?
- P.S. 026 Rufus King is in Fresh Meadows-Utopia, Queens.