At a Glance
A steadily improving Upper West Side zoned school where parents feel heard and the test scores have been quietly climbing for a decade
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want a public elementary where parents are deeply engaged, discipline is handled gently, and academic trends point upward — and who won't miss the high-octane enrichment that comes with a larger PTA budget.
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
- A decade-long upward arc in test scores — ELA up 12 points and math up 11 points since 2016
- Zero suspensions across three consecutive school years, a meaningful signal about how behavior is handled
- Parent trust ratings of 94-96% suggest a school where families feel genuinely heard by teachers and leadership
- 45% IEP enrollment and an SE designation make this one of District 3's more inclusion-heavy zoned options
- Grade 4 hits roughly 60% proficiency in both subjects — the cohort that's clearly carrying the school's recent gains
Things to consider
- ELA proficiency still trails the district by about 6 points — students here are catching up, not leading peers
- Chronic absenteeism at 62% is high, and the unusual demographic pattern (White and Asian students absent most often) deserves a direct question
- PTA fundraising runs around $23 per student versus a district average of $627 — enrichment and field-trip budgets are thin
- Teacher trust in the principal at 62% is a noticeable internal gap worth probing on a tour
- The gap between the neighborhood's wealth and the school's economic need index is real and shapes the school's character
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 3
District 3's top performers are heavily screened — Special Music, Anderson, Success Academy charters, and P.S. 166 — so this zoned school sits below the district average on overall score (2.09 vs 2.27) and below on ELA proficiency. But it's a steadily improving zoned option in a district where many families are competing for the small handful of selective seats.
Academics
ELA proficiency at 53.2% trails the district average of 59.3% by about 6 points, and math at 51.2% sits just below the district's 54%. But the year-over-year story is the headline: both subjects have climbed roughly 11 to 12 percentage points since 2016, with the biggest jumps in the last two years. Grade 4 stands out at roughly 61% ELA and 59% math proficiency, while grades 3 and 5 come in lower — there's real variation by cohort. On the 1-4 overall score, the school sits at 2.09 versus the district's 2.27, so it's below peers but on a clear upward arc.
Culture
Parents and teachers describe this as a place where adults are heard: 96% of parents trust their child's teacher and 94% trust the principal, and 89% of teachers rate instruction quality positively. Teacher trust in the principal is the notable weak spot at 62% — worth asking about on a tour. Discipline is genuinely gentle — zero suspensions across three straight years — and 96% of teachers report the school feels safe. Attendance at 89.4% is just under the district average, but chronic absenteeism runs high at 62%, with a striking inversion: White and Asian students are absent far more often than Black and Hispanic peers, suggesting families with more schedule flexibility may be pulling kids out for travel.
Community
The student body is 53% Hispanic, 21% White, 18% Black, with smaller Asian, multiracial, and Native American shares, for a diversity index of 69%. The contrast with the surrounding neighborhood is hard to miss — Upper West Side adults are 80% college-educated with a median household income above $150K, yet 61% of the school's students qualify as having economic need and 45% are classified as IEPs. That gap likely reflects public housing within the zone, the school's self-contained special education designation, and District 3's broader pattern of inclusion-heavy zoned options serving students from across Manhattan.
Neighborhood
The Upper West Side around the school is one of Manhattan's more affluent residential areas: median household income near $152,000, a poverty rate under 9%, and four out of five adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. About 17% of households have children, and homeownership sits near 38%, with a median home value above $1.5 million. The streets are dense with families in mid-rise housing, and the area tends to attract both long-term Upper West Siders and newer arrivals drawn by schools, parks, and subway access.
The 96 St station on the 1, 2, and 3 lines is about a three-minute walk, and the 86 St and 103 St stations on the 1 line are roughly 9 to 10 minutes on foot.
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) · 235 families responded (53% 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
Kindergarten
P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson 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. 075 Emily Dickinson a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson earns an overall rating of 52/100 — 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 in line with the District 3 average.
- What grades does P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson serve?
- P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson serves grades K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson?
- P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson is a public school in NYC Community School District 3.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson in?
- P.S. 075 Emily Dickinson is in Upper West Side (Central), Manhattan.