At a Glance
A Bronx elementary that has quietly become one of District 11's strongest performers, with test scores that have nearly tripled since 2019.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want strong academics, a warm and trusting school community, and a large enough school to offer full programming — without needing a long commute or a private school 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
- Academic transformation: ELA proficiency went from ~30% in 2016 to 87.2% in 2025, one of the steepest improvement curves in the district.
- Third graders are performing at near-universal proficiency, with 97.6% ELA and 98.8% math.
- Zero suspensions for three consecutive years, in a school serving 830 students.
- Parent-teacher trust at 98% — among the highest in the district.
- Large school size (830 students) means full programming and stable staffing that smaller schools can't always offer.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism is at 70.4%, which is high even by post-pandemic NYC standards and worth asking the school about.
- PTA fundraising is low at $5 per student, so families who want a robust parent-financed enrichment budget may find it limited.
- Class size averages around 24, which is typical for the district but not small.
- Academic performance dips somewhat between third and fifth grade, which is worth understanding.
- The school's recent gains are remarkable, but the data only goes back to 2016 — long-term track record is still being established.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 11
In a district where the average elementary school scores 2.25 out of 4 and hovers around 57% ELA proficiency, P.S. 096's 3.4/4 and 87% ELA put it in rarefied air. It outperforms most peer schools and even rivals some of the top charters in the area.
Academics
This is the headline story: P.S. 096 has gone from ELA proficiency around 25-30% in the late 2010s to 87.2% in 2025, and math has climbed from around 28-36% to 82.7%. Both figures sit roughly 30 percentage points above the District 11 averages of 56.7% ELA and 55.6% math. Third graders are particularly strong at 97.6% ELA and 98.8% math proficiency, though scores dip somewhat in fourth and fifth grade. The trajectory is unambiguously upward, with the most dramatic gains coming between 2022 and 2023.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here seems notably warm. Parent satisfaction sits at 96% (above the district average of 93%), and parent-teacher trust is at a striking 98%, which suggests families feel genuinely connected to what's happening in classrooms. Teacher-reported safety is 98%, well above the district's 95%. The school has had zero suspensions for three straight years, which is unusual for a school this size. The one thing parents should know: chronic absenteeism is at 70.4%, which sounds alarming but is largely consistent with post-pandemic patterns across NYC. Attendance rate itself is 91.9%, slightly above district average.
Community
The student body is 64% Hispanic, 18% Black, 13% White, and 3% Asian, with a diversity index of 58%. This closely mirrors the surrounding Allerton neighborhood, which has a large Dominican and African American population. The economic need index of 84.2 indicates a high concentration of students from low-income households, and 20% of students have IEPs. One telling detail: PTA fundraising last year totaled just $5 per student, compared to the district average of nearly $24, which suggests the parent engagement is strong in spirit but the school community has limited financial resources to pull from.
Neighborhood
Allerton is a densely settled, working-class pocket of the Bronx where the median household income is around $46,600 and roughly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. About 15.5% of households have children under 18, and homeownership is low at 15.9% — most families here rent. The neighborhood has a strong Dominican and Caribbean character, and you see it in the school's demographics. It's a place where families are raising kids in modest circumstances but investing heavily in their education.
The school is well-served by the 2 and 5 trains: Pelham Pkwy (2/5) is about a 6-minute walk, Allerton Av (2/5) is about 7 minutes, and Morris Park (5) is around 13 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) · 538 families responded (63% 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 Richard Rodgers 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 Richard Rodgers 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 Richard Rodgers a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers earns an overall rating of 85/100 — 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 11 average.
- What grades does P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers serve?
- P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers?
- P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers is a public school in NYC Community School District 11.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers in?
- P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers is in Allerton, Bronx.