P.S. 084 Lillian Weber

At 75% ELA and 73.8% math proficiency, P.S. 84 outperforms the district averages of roughly 59% and 54% by a wide margin. The longer arc is even more telling: scores have climbed from the low 50s a decade ago to the mid-70s today, with a dip in 2024 that bounced back hard in 2025. By grade, third-graders lead (around 79% in both subjects), with a small dip in fourth grade before fifth grade rebounds — a normal pattern, not a red flag. The school's overall 2.98 out of 4 puts it well above the district average of 2.27.

The day-to-day feel is calm and connected. Teachers rate safety at 99%, instruction quality at 99%, and trust in their colleagues and principal at 95% — all noticeably higher than district norms. Parent satisfaction sits at 92%, with parent-teacher trust at 95% and parent-principal trust at 93%, backed by a healthy 77% family survey response rate that suggests families actually engage. There are zero suspensions, which has held for three straight years. One number gives pause: chronic absenteeism is reported at 78%, an unusually high figure even accounting for post-pandemic patterns, and worth asking the school about directly. Daily attendance, at 93.1%, is above the district average.

P.S. 84 draws a student body that mirrors its neighborhood more than the city as a whole: about 52% white and 29% Hispanic, with smaller Asian, Black, and multiracial shares. The economic need index of 33.6 is well below the city average, reflecting the affluence of the surrounding blocks. About 18% of students have IEPs, in line with the district. The parent body is unusually engaged — both in surveys and in dollars, with the PTA raising more per student than almost any peer school in the area.

The school sits in the central Upper West Side, a neighborhood defined by professional families in mid-rise and brownstone housing. Median household income is around $152,000, four in five adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 17% of households include children — lower than some outer-borough neighborhoods but typical for a dense, family-oriented Manhattan pocket. Most families who move here do so with school zoning very much in mind, and the area around the school has the feel of a school crowd on weekday mornings.

The 96 St C and B trains are about a five-minute walk, the 86 St C and B about six minutes, and the 96 St 1, 2, and 3 about eight minutes — three solid subway options within easy walking distance.