P.S. 121 Queens

ELA proficiency at 83.9% and math at 85.5% put P.S. 121 roughly 21 points above District 28 averages (about 62.8% on both measures). The trajectory is the real headline: ELA climbed from 48.4% in 2016 to 83.9% in 2025, and math from 52.1% to 85.5%. Scores are strongest in the lower grades — Grade 3 hits 89.6% ELA and 94.2% math, Grade 4 reaches 87% and 95.7% — then dip in Grade 5 (77.7% ELA, 71.9% math), a pattern worth asking the school about directly.

The survey numbers paint a calm, high-trust picture: parent-teacher trust at 97%, parent-principal trust at 98%, teacher-reported safety at 97%, and teacher-principal trust at 94%. Three consecutive years of zero suspensions is rare in a district where the average suspension rate is about 0.37%. Parent satisfaction at 95% combined with an 82% family survey response rate suggests families feel genuinely connected to the school rather than just enrolled. The honest concern for parents: chronic absenteeism stands at 72.1%, well above what any family would want — likely a post-COVID participation issue worth raising with the principal, but not, on its own, evidence of a dysfunctional school.

The student body is majority Asian (52%), with notable shares of Black (12%), Hispanic (12%), and — unusually for a city school — Native American students at 21%. The diversity index of 73% reflects a genuinely mixed population. Around South Ozone Park, 69% of residents own their homes, one in five households includes children, and the median household income sits around $98,000 — a multi-generational, family-oriented community that mirrors the school's demographic center of gravity.

South Ozone Park is a working- and middle-class neighborhood where most residents own their homes and roughly 20% of households include children. With a poverty rate of 10.5% and a median household income near $98,000, the area sits comfortably above the borough median. The 69% homeownership rate and 20.8% bachelor's-or-higher rate point to multi-generational families putting down roots rather than transient renters.

Most families reach the school by car, school bus, or local bus. The A train is the closest subway — Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd is about a 12-minute walk and 111 St is roughly 18 minutes on foot.