P.S. 055 Maure

Math proficiency of 85.3% runs about 22 points above the District 28 average of 62.8%, and ELA at 76.5% is nearly 14 points above — both meaningfully ahead. The longer arc is even more striking: in 2016 the school posted the high 30s in both subjects, and the climb has been steady, with a particularly big jump between 2024 and 2025 (ELA up 21 points, math up nearly 19). Grade 3 leads the way (89.6% ELA, 88% math); fifth grade ELA dips to 64.9% even as math holds at 86.8%, suggesting reading stamina may be where the school's next growth opportunity lies.

The day-to-day feel here reads warm and orderly — 98% of teachers rate their school as safe, 98% rate instruction positively, and parent trust scores sit at 97% with the principal and 97% with teachers. There were zero suspensions in 2023-24, and only one across the past three years combined. The one number that complicates the picture is chronic absenteeism at 67.2% — high enough that more than two-thirds of students miss 18 or more days a year — even though the overall attendance rate of 91% tracks the district average. Translation: most kids are there most days, but a large chunk of the roster struggles with regular attendance, and the gap is widest among Asian and female students per the subgroup data.

The student body is one of the more unusual mixes in the borough: 38% Asian, 26% Native American, 24% Hispanic, 10% Black, and 2% White, with a diversity index of 77%. Fourteen percent of students have IEPs and the economic need index is 64%, meaning many families rely on some level of additional support. South Richmond Hill itself is a middle-income, majority-homeowner neighborhood (57% own, median home value around $704,000) with a 12% poverty rate that runs lower than many parts of Queens.

South Richmond Hill is a settled, family-rooted pocket of eastern Queens where most families own their homes and median household income sits near $88,000 — comfortably above the citywide figure. About one in five adults has a bachelor's degree, and roughly 22% of households include children, signaling plenty of peer families nearby. The vibe is residential and quiet, more car-and-walk oriented than subway-oriented, with the typical mix of single-family homes, small parks, and neighborhood shops that defines this stretch of Queens.

No subway is right at the school's door; families reach the E at Jamaica-Van Wyck or the E, J, and Z at Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport in about a 13-minute walk, and the A at Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd in about 15 minutes.