P.S. 129 Patricia Larkin

At 52.2% ELA proficiency and 54.4% math proficiency, P.S. 129 trails the district averages of roughly 65% and 70% by 13 and 15 points respectively — meaningful gaps, especially in math. The longer arc is sobering: in 2019 the school hit 64.5% ELA and 74.8% math, both well above district averages at the time. After the pandemic dip and a particularly rough 2024 (41.2% ELA), 2025 shows a partial recovery, with ELA climbing 11 points year-over-year and math ticking up modestly. The trajectory from the recent low is improving, but the school is still working to claw back toward its pre-2020 strength.

Day-to-day, P.S. 129 reads as a calm, relationship-driven place. Zero suspensions over three consecutive years is genuinely unusual for a school this size, and 97% of teachers report feeling safe — right in line with the district. Parents feel heard: trust in teachers and the principal both sit in the mid-to-high 90s. The catch is chronic absenteeism at 68.6%, far above what you'd want to see, and a noticeable gap between how teachers view school leadership (only 71% trust the principal) versus how parents do (96%). Attendance is the one climate metric that should give any parent pause.

The student body is 57% Hispanic, 33% Asian, and 8% White — a mix that reflects College Point's character as a working- and middle-class neighborhood with significant Chinese and Latino populations and a notable homeownership rate of 53%. About 16% of students have IEPs and the economic need index is 65%, meaning roughly two-thirds of families qualify for some form of public assistance. At 1,147 students this is one of the larger elementary schools in the area, so your child is likely to find peers who share their background and language.

College Point is a middle-income Queens neighborhood where the median household income sits around $89,000, the poverty rate is 9.5%, and just over half of homes are owner-occupied — a relatively settled, family-rooted pocket of the borough by city standards. About 23% of adults have a bachelor's degree and 23% of households include children, which fits the feel of a place built around schools and homes rather than nightlife. Median home values near $855,000 signal that this is a community where families have put down stakes, and that stability tends to filter into PTA involvement and school life.

This school is beyond walking distance of the subway, so most families arrive by car, school bus, or local bus.