P.S. 128 Audubon

ELA proficiency sits at 48.2%, just slightly above the district average of 47%, while math at 40.5% runs notably below the district's 52.1%. But the multi-year trend is genuinely worth noting: ELA proficiency has more than doubled from 23.4% in 2016 to 48.2% in 2025, and math has climbed from 29.5% to its current level with some year-to-year fluctuation. Grade-by-grade breakdowns show fourth graders leading in both subjects (53.2% ELA, 43.5% math), suggesting instructional momentum builds as students move up. The school sits in District 6 where the overall rating average is 1.98/4 and P.S. 128 lands at 1.77 — below average, but trending in a clear direction.

The day-to-day feel here comes through loud and clear in the survey data: parent-teacher trust at 97%, parent-principal trust at 98%, and a perfect 100% on strong relationships. Teachers report instruction quality at 88% (a touch below the 90.4% district average) and safety at 93% (right at the district average). Zero suspensions over three consecutive years is notable in a district where the average suspension rate is around 0.43%. The honest caveat: chronic absenteeism runs high at 64.7% overall, hitting Hispanic students especially hard at 67.2%, which is something families should know about even as the school climate otherwise reads as warm and family-connected.

Nine in ten students here identify as Hispanic, with 5% white, 3% Black, and 1% Asian — a student body that closely reflects the surrounding Washington Heights census tract. The economic need index of 82.3 signals a high-poverty community, and 21% of students have IEPs. Family survey response rates hit 95% (413 responses), which is unusually high and suggests deep parental engagement despite PTA fundraising of just $25 per student — roughly half the district average of $52.

The school sits in southern Washington Heights, a working-class neighborhood where median household income is about $55,786 and the poverty rate runs around 22%. Homeownership is just 8%, meaning most families rent, and only 9% of households have children under 18. About a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Median home values around $750,201 reflect the area's competitive rental market despite modest incomes.

Getting here by transit is about as easy as it gets in New York: the 168 St station on the A and C lines is roughly a minute from the door, the 168 St-Washington Hts stop on the 1 is about two minutes away, and the 163 St-Amsterdam Av station on the C is roughly an eight-minute walk.