At a Glance
A zoned South Ozone Park elementary where state test scores now sit nearly 20 points above district averages, anchored by unusually strong parent-school trust.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want strong academics and an engaged parent community, and who can manage the commute without a subway stop nearby.
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
- Test proficiency has nearly doubled in both ELA and math since 2016, outpacing almost every peer in District 27.
- Three consecutive years with zero suspensions — an exceptionally calm disciplinary climate.
- Parent engagement is unusually high for a zoned school, with a 79% family survey response rate and 93% satisfaction.
- Student body includes a 19% Native American share, reflecting the Indigenous Caribbean community that anchors this part of Queens.
- A diversity index of 84% makes this one of the more genuinely mixed classrooms in the district.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 62.5% is a serious red flag — ask the school what is being done to address it before enrolling.
- The 59% teacher-principal trust score is a real disconnect from parent satisfaction and may signal turnover or internal friction.
- PTA fundraising is just $38 per student versus a $121 district average, which limits what the school can offer beyond the core curriculum.
- With no subway within walking distance, families without a car will face a longer, bus-dependent commute.
- IEP enrollment is only 6%, so families seeking robust special education services should ask what supports exist.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 27
P.S. 096 ranks among the stronger zoned elementaries in District 27, comfortably above the district average of 2.27/4 and ahead of peer zoned schools like P.S. 066 and P.S. 155. Several of the top-scoring schools in the district are not zoned — they are charters — so for a family who wants or needs a zoned option, this is one of the better picks in the area.
Academics
P.S. 096's 75.4% ELA proficiency and 77.2% math proficiency land roughly 19 and 20 points above District 27 averages — a meaningful gap, not a rounding error. The trajectory is the more striking story: math proficiency nearly doubled since 2016, and ELA has risen about 30 points over the same window. Grade-level results are strong across the board, with Grade 4 ELA at 82% and Grade 3 math at 84%. The school is teaching at a level well above its peer set.
Culture
The parent-side climate is excellent: 93% parent satisfaction, 94% trust in teachers, and 95% trust in the principal, with 234 families responding to the survey. Zero suspensions over three years is genuinely rare and signals a calm building. The teacher side tells a more complicated story — teacher-principal trust sits at just 59%, even as teachers give instruction quality and safety 96% and 100% respectively. The most important flag is chronic absenteeism at 62.5%: nearly two-thirds of students miss 10% or more of school days, even though the average attendance rate looks fine at 90.8%. Families should ask directly how the school is working on getting kids in the door.
Community
The student body is notably diverse (84% diversity index) and the racial mix is unusual: Asian students make up 38%, followed by Black (20%), Native American (19%), Hispanic (18%), with smaller White and multiracial shares. The 19% Native American share reflects a sizable Indigenous Caribbean community common in this part of Queens. About 70% of students qualify for economic need, while 6% have IEPs — a notably smaller share of students with disabilities than citywide. The neighborhood around the school skews toward homeowners and two-parent households with a median income near $98K.
Neighborhood
South Ozone Park is a stable, homeowner-heavy stretch of southern Queens, with 69% of residents owning their homes and a median home value over $650K. Household incomes cluster around $98K and the poverty rate is comparatively modest at 10.5%, though only one in five households includes children — so the school draws from a relatively small family pool. The neighborhood has a quiet, residential character that appeals to families planting roots rather than transients.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families will need a car, school bus, or local bus service to get here.
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) · 234 families responded (79% 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. 096 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. 096 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. 096 a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 096 earns an overall rating of 76/100 — 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 27 average.
- What grades does P.S. 096 serve?
- P.S. 096 serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 096?
- P.S. 096 admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 096 public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 096 is a public school in NYC Community School District 27.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 096 in?
- P.S. 096 is in South Ozone Park, Queens.