At a Glance
A high-achieving, family-anchored elementary in Whitestone that leads the district in math and earns near-universal parent trust
Best suited for
Zoned families in Whitestone-Beechhurst who want a high-performing school with a calm, suspension-free climate and an engaged parent community, and who can manage a car- or bus-based commute.
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
- Math proficiency of 95% is among the highest in Queens, roughly 25 points above the district average and rising sharply over the last five years.
- Zero suspensions over three consecutive years — a rare achievement in a city school and a signal of a calm, well-managed environment.
- Parent-principal trust and parent-teacher trust both sit at 98%, alongside a 96% parent satisfaction rate — among the strongest family-school relationships in the district.
- PTA fundraising of $94 per student is nearly twice the district average of $49, funding real classroom extras in a zoned school.
- Scores are strong across every tested grade (3-5) with no weak grade band, suggesting consistent instruction rather than a single cohort driving the results.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 83% is the single biggest red flag here, and the gap between Asian students (92%) and Hispanic students (63%) is large enough to warrant asking the school directly about it.
- With no subway within a 20-minute walk, families without a car need a realistic bus plan, especially for younger children.
- Class sizes average nearly 25 students, identical to the district average, so don't expect small-class intimacy at this large, 1,049-student campus.
- The student body is 64% Asian and only 1% Black, which families seeking a more racially balanced environment may want to weigh.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 25
P.S. 079 sits at the top of District 25's performance stack, scoring 92/100 in peer comparisons — ahead of highly regarded schools like P.S. 209 Clearview Gardens and BELL Academy. It is well above the district overall average of 2.69/4 and is one of the strongest zoned elementary options in the area.
Academics
Math proficiency has climbed dramatically, from 67% in 2016 to 95% in 2025, and now sits roughly 25 percentage points above the district average of 70%. ELA has risen more modestly but steadily, from 64% to 85%, also well ahead of the district's 65%. Scores are strong across grades 3-5, with no weak grade band dragging down the average. The trajectory is clearly improving, especially in math, where gains have been consistent year over year since 2019.
Culture
The trust numbers here are unusually strong: 98% of parents trust their teacher, 98% trust the principal, and 100% of teachers say they feel safe at school. Teacher confidence in instruction quality is 97%, and the school has logged zero suspensions for three consecutive years, pointing to a calm, well-managed environment. However, chronic absenteeism is 83% — meaning a large share of students are missing enough school to fall behind, even though daily attendance (94.7%) is above average. This is the school's most meaningful climate flag, and the breakdown shows it runs much higher among Asian students (92%) than Hispanic students (63%).
Community
The student body is 64% Asian, 19% Hispanic, 15% White, and 1% Black, while the surrounding Whitestone-Beechhurst neighborhood skews toward college-educated, middle- and upper-middle-income homeowners. The school serves 1,049 students from a relatively low-poverty catchment (economic need index of 50), and 12% of students have IEPs. PTA fundraising of $94 per student is nearly double the district average, signaling an engaged, resource-generating parent base.
Neighborhood
Whitestone-Beechhurst is a family-dense, mostly owner-occupied neighborhood where seven in ten households own their homes and median home values approach $880,000. Median household income is around $95,500 and the poverty rate is just 7%, giving the area a suburban, established feel despite being in the city. About 21% of households have children under 18, and over a third of adults have a bachelor's degree. The neighborhood is not walkable to a subway — most families drive or take local buses.
No subway stations are within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families typically drive, carpool, or rely on local buses to get there.
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) · 490 families responded (46% 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. 079 Francis Lewis 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. 079 Francis Lewis 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.
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Compare head-to-head
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 079 Francis Lewis a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 079 Francis Lewis earns an overall rating of 90/100 — 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 above the District 25 average.
- What grades does P.S. 079 Francis Lewis serve?
- P.S. 079 Francis Lewis serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 079 Francis Lewis?
- P.S. 079 Francis Lewis admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 079 Francis Lewis public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 079 Francis Lewis is a public school in NYC Community School District 25.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 079 Francis Lewis in?
- P.S. 079 Francis Lewis is in Whitestone-Beechhurst, Queens.