P.S. 036 Margaret Douglas

P.S. 036's proficiency rates — 47.1% in ELA and 41.3% in math — sit below the District 5 averages of roughly 54% and 51%, respectively, and the school's overall quality score of 1.77/4 trails the district's 2.09. But the trend line tells the more interesting story: in 2016, only about 17% of students were meeting ELA standards and 20% were meeting math standards. By 2025 those figures have climbed to 47% and 41% — a steep, steady climb that suggests real instructional improvement is taking hold even if the school hasn't yet closed the gap with its peers. Within the building, 5th graders post the strongest ELA results (58.3%), while 4th graders lag behind their 3rd-grade peers in both subjects, a pattern worth asking the school about.

Day-to-day, this is a calm, low-discipline school: there were zero suspensions in any of the past three years, and 93% of teachers say they feel safe — well above the district average of about 89%. Parents are notably engaged, with 92% satisfied (above the district's 91%) and strikingly high trust in teachers (96%) and the principal (94%). The one friction point worth naming: teacher-principal trust sits at just 63%, a meaningful gap that suggests leadership communication or working conditions may need attention even as families feel heard. Attendance is a real concern — 85.6% is below the district's 88.6%, and nearly 46% of students are chronically absent, with girls absent at higher rates than boys. That's a lot of missed school, even at a place where the classroom climate itself feels stable.

P.S. 036's 290 enrollment makes it genuinely small — about half the size of many Manhattan elementaries — which tends to mean teachers know each kid well. The student body is 59% Hispanic, 33% Black, with smaller shares of White (5%), Asian (2%), and multiracial students, while the economic need index of 87.2 indicates a high share of students from low-income households. About 28% of students have IEPs, a notably high share that signals real inclusion work is happening inside the building. Notably, only about 12% of Morningside Heights households include children, so the school's families are coming from a broader and more economically mixed area than the immediate census tract might suggest — the building reflects West Harlem more than its zip code alone.

Morningside Heights sits along the northern edge of Manhattan's academic corridor, with a median household income just under $100,000 and nearly 71% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher — a notably well-educated population. About 23% of residents live below the poverty line, and only about 21% own their homes, reflecting a renter-heavy neighborhood where apartments are valuable (median home value around $992,000). Because so few local households include children, families at P.S. 036 tend to be a mix of longtime Harlem residents and newer arrivals drawn in from nearby areas.

Families can reach the school via the 125 St station on the 1 line (about a 7-minute walk) or the 125 St station on the A, C, B, and D lines (about a 6-minute walk), with the 116 St C and B stop roughly 9 minutes away on foot.