At a Glance
A sprawling K–8 zoned school in South Ozone Park where ELA has climbed steadily for nearly a decade, even as math wobbles behind the district pace.
Best suited for
Families living in the South Ozone Park zoned area who want a stable K–8 pathway in a calm, owner-occupied neighborhood and don't need to commute by subway.
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
- One of the rare NYC zoned schools where Native American students make up roughly 12% of enrollment, reflecting South Ozone Park's distinctive Caribbean and Guyanese population.
- ELA proficiency has climbed roughly 14 percentage points over nine years — one of the more consistent long-term gains in District 27.
- Teacher-reported safety of 97% is meaningfully higher than the district norm of 92.6%.
- Parent satisfaction and trust scores all sit at or above district averages, suggesting families feel heard.
- Full K–8 zoned pathway means most students can stay from kindergarten through graduation without an admissions scramble.
Things to consider
- Math proficiency at 50.2% lags the district average by 7 points, and the year-to-year math trajectory has been volatile.
- Chronic absenteeism of 69.3% is high — even at schools where attendance looks normal, a large subset of students is missing extended time.
- PTA fundraising is roughly one-eleventh the district average per student, which can translate to fewer enrichment extras unless supplemented outside the school.
- Suspensions, while still low, have crept up from zero three years ago to seven last year — worth monitoring.
- There are no nearby subway stations, so families without a car should plan around bus routes.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 27
District 27 includes some of Queens' strongest charter options (Success Academy, Peninsula Prep, Wave Prep), and P.S. 124 sits comfortably in the middle of the zoned-school pack — not a standout academically, but above average on safety and parent satisfaction. It's a reliable neighborhood school rather than a destination school.
Academics
ELA proficiency at 53.9% trails the District 27 average of 56.1% by a small margin, and math at 50.2% sits further behind the district's 57.3% — but the multi-year picture is mostly encouraging. ELA has climbed almost every year since 2016, gaining roughly 14 percentage points over nine years. Math has been bumpier, dipping into the low 30s in 2022 before recovering to 50.2% this year. Grade-by-grade results swing widely — Grade 3 hits 67% in math while Grade 8 lands at 34.6% — a pattern often linked to cohort-to-cohort variation in middle-school years.
Culture
Day-to-day, this feels like a calm school. Teacher-reported safety is 97% — well above the district average of 92.6% — and parent-principal trust sits at 91%. Attendance is strong at 91.8% (above the district's 89.96%), but the chronic absenteeism rate of 69.3% looks high; in a school this size it points to a real share of kids missing substantial school time even as most families show up reliably. Discipline is light (7 suspensions, 1%), though that number has crept up from zero a few years ago. Teacher instruction quality at 89% is slightly below the district norm — worth asking about in a tour.
Community
P.S. 124's student body is 48% Asian, 17% Black, 18% Hispanic, 4% White, and notably 12% Native American — an unusual mix for a Queens zoned school and a reminder that South Ozone Park has a significant Guyanese and Caribbean Indigenous population. About 10% of students have IEPs and the school offers ELL support, with an academic-track option through Accelerated/Honors. The surrounding neighborhood is solidly middle-income (median household income around $98,190) and mostly homeowners — families who tend to put down roots and stay enrolled.
Neighborhood
South Ozone Park is a quiet, owner-occupied pocket of southeast Queens where more than two-thirds of households own their homes and median home values sit around $652,000. About one in five households includes children, and roughly a fifth of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The poverty rate near the school is below the city average, and the residential blocks are mostly single-family homes — a stable, settled feel. There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk, which makes the school genuinely car- or bus-dependent for most commutes.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so most families rely on cars, school buses, or local buses to get here — this is not a subway-commute school.
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
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science 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) · 514 families responded (53% rate)
Programs & Activities
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
Kindergarten
P.S. 124 Osmond A Church 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.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. P.S. 124 Osmond A Church admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- PS/MS 124 Zoned ProgramZoned125 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Zoned programs give priority to students who live in the zone — a priority, not a guaranteed seat.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
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. 124 Osmond A Church a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 124 Osmond A Church earns an overall rating of 52/100 — 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 in line with the District 27 average.
- What grades does P.S. 124 Osmond A Church serve?
- P.S. 124 Osmond A Church serves grades K to 8.
- How do students get into P.S. 124 Osmond A Church?
- P.S. 124 Osmond A Church admits by zone. For elementary grades, children who live in its zone get a guaranteed seat; for the older grades, living in the zone gives priority, not a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 124 Osmond A Church public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 124 Osmond A Church is a public school in NYC Community School District 27.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 124 Osmond A Church in?
- P.S. 124 Osmond A Church is in South Ozone Park, Queens.