At a Glance
A tight-knit Staten Island zoned school where families feel deeply connected and the culture is stronger than the test scores suggest
Best suited for
Families who live in the zoned area and prioritize a warm, connected school community with strong parent engagement and a calm, discipline-free environment — and who are comfortable supporting their child's academics from home given that proficiency sits below the district average.
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 for three consecutive years — exceptionally rare and a strong signal of a calm, well-managed environment
- 100% of families report strong relationships with the school, an unusually high mark
- Grade 5 proficiency in ELA at 78.4% — the school's upper grades are clearly performing well
- Parent-teacher and parent-principal trust both at 98% — families feel genuinely heard
Things to consider
- ELA and math proficiency sit below District 31 averages, though the trajectory is improving
- Chronic absenteeism at 67% is high; ask the school how it's addressing attendance, especially among Asian families where the rate is 91.3%
- PTA fundraising of about $50 per student is well below the district average of $141 — enrichment programs likely run leaner here
- Teacher-principal and collegial trust scores are noticeably lower than the parent-side numbers, which can signal internal staff dynamics worth asking about
- No nearby subway within easy walking distance — commuting by transit requires planning
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 31
P.S. 038 lands in the middle of its District 31 peers. Top peers like P.S. 35 (99/100), Naples Street (97/100), and P.S. 5 (96/100) outperform it on the overall score, and the school's 2.21 rating trails the district's 2.45 average. It is not a struggling school, but it is not among Staten Island's standouts either.
Academics
At 54% ELA proficiency and 56.4% math proficiency, P.S. 038 sits below the District 31 averages of 61.3% and 61% respectively. The overall score of 2.21 out of 4 also trails the district's 2.45. That said, the trend is genuinely encouraging — ELA climbed from 42.8% to 54% and math from 49.4% to 56.4% in a single year, and Grade 5 results (78.4% ELA, 66% math) are the strongest in the building. The school has real momentum; it just hasn't yet caught up to its peers.
Culture
This is where P.S. 038 shines. Parent satisfaction is 90%, parent-teacher trust is 98%, and 100% of families report strong relationships — meaning parents overwhelmingly feel connected and heard. Teachers rate their own safety at 98% and instruction quality at 95%, both solid. The one soft spot is teacher-principal trust at 82% and collegial trust at 78% — decent, but suggesting some friction among staff. The discipline picture is striking: zero suspensions in each of the last three reported years, well below the district average.
Community
The student body is a genuine mix: 38% White, 29% Asian, 26% Hispanic, with small Black and multiracial shares, yielding a 73% diversity index. That composition broadly mirrors the surrounding neighborhood, which is largely homeowner families at a comfortable middle-class income level. Seventeen percent of students have IEPs, and the economic need index of 71.9 suggests a meaningful share of families are stretching financially, though the median household income locally ($91,669) is solid.
Neighborhood
New Dorp-Midland Beach is a stable, family-oriented pocket of Staten Island — 75% homeownership, a median home value over $650,000, and nearly a quarter of households include children. About 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits at a modest 9.5%. It's the kind of place where families plant roots and stay, and the school reflects that rootedness.
P.S. 038 is not a walk-to-subway school. The nearest Staten Island Railway stops — Jefferson Av, Grant City, and Dongan Hills — are all roughly a 13 to 20-minute walk. Most families arrive by car, school bus, or on foot from nearby blocks.
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) · 237 families responded (71% 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. 038 George Cromwell 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. 038 George Cromwell 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. 038 George Cromwell a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 038 George Cromwell earns an overall rating of 55/100 — 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 31 average.
- What grades does P.S. 038 George Cromwell serve?
- P.S. 038 George Cromwell serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 038 George Cromwell?
- P.S. 038 George Cromwell admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 038 George Cromwell public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 038 George Cromwell is a public school in NYC Community School District 31.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 038 George Cromwell in?
- P.S. 038 George Cromwell is in New Dorp-Midland Beach, Staten Island.