At a Glance
A relationship-first neighborhood school in Far Rockaway where families and teachers consistently feel heard, even as test scores lag.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who value a warm, relationship-driven community over top-line test scores — and who are willing to partner with the school to address attendance and push academic growth forward.
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
- 100% of teachers report strong relationships with families — exceptionally rare in NYC
- Zero suspensions for three consecutive years
- Steady academic gains since 2022, with 2025 marking the strongest year in nearly a decade
- Self-contained special education program serving SE students
- Near-universal parent-principal trust at 97%
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 58% is a real obstacle to academic gains, especially in ELA
- ELA and math proficiency trail the district by roughly 15-20 percentage points
- Several nearby charter schools — Success Academy South Jamaica, Peninsula Prep, Wave Prep — post notably stronger academic results
- No nearby subway: families need a 12-18 minute walk to the A train
- Class size of 23.4 matches the district average — not unusually small
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 27
District 27 is a mixed landscape of high-performing charter options and traditional zoned schools. Success Academy South Jamaica and Peninsula Preparatory lead with scores in the 90s, and Wave Preparatory and Scholars' Academy also post strong results. Among traditional zoned schools, P.S. 66 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sits higher than P.S. 104, and P.S. 155 is comparable. P.S. 104's academic numbers fall below the district average, but its culture and trust scores are among the stronger showings in the district.
Academics
ELA proficiency of 36% and math at 43.4% both trail the District 27 averages of about 56% and 57%, and the school's overall quality score of 1.59/4 is well below the district's 2.27/4. But the trajectory is genuinely encouraging: scores climbed from a 2022 pandemic-era low (24% ELA, 25% math) to their highest point in nearly a decade in 2025. Third graders lead in math at 49.3% proficient and fifth graders lead in ELA at 42.7%, while fourth grade is the weakest spot in both subjects.
Culture
The culture numbers here are unusually strong. 100% of teachers report strong relationships with families, 97% of parents trust both the principal and their child's teacher, and 97% rate instruction quality highly. Zero suspensions over three consecutive years is rare for a school this size and points to a calm, well-managed building. Teacher-reported safety at 93% sits modestly above the district average. The day's biggest tension is the gap between those warm survey results and a 58.3% chronic absenteeism rate — meaning a large share of students are missing too much school to benefit from what's clearly a caring environment.
Community
The student body is 54% Hispanic and 36% Black, with smaller shares of white, Asian, Native American, and multiracial students — closely mirroring the surrounding Far Rockaway community. The economic need index of 85 means most families are at or near the poverty line, and 19% of students have IEPs. The diversity index of 59% reflects a school that is mixed but heavily weighted toward two main communities.
Neighborhood
Far Rockaway-Bayswater is a working-class, family-rooted stretch of the Rockaway peninsula. Median household income is $67,668 and about 22% of households include children, but only 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Homeownership is low at 29%, meaning most families rent, and median home values sit around $625,822. It's a residential neighborhood where the school sits at the center of community life.
There are no quick subway options — the A train at Beach 25 St and Far Rockaway-Mott Av are each about a 12-minute walk, and Beach 36 St (A) is around 18 minutes away. Most families likely walk, bike, or take the bus.
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) · 321 families responded (63% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 104 The Bays Water 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. 104 The Bays Water 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. 104 The Bays Water a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 104 The Bays Water earns an overall rating of 40/100 — 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 below the District 27 average.
- What grades does P.S. 104 The Bays Water serve?
- P.S. 104 The Bays Water serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 104 The Bays Water?
- P.S. 104 The Bays Water admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 104 The Bays Water public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 104 The Bays Water is a public school in NYC Community School District 27.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 104 The Bays Water in?
- P.S. 104 The Bays Water is in Far Rockaway-Bayswater, Queens.