At a Glance
A PK-12 East Harlem school serving an entirely special-education community under one roof
Best suited for
Families of children with IEPs who want continuity from pre-K through high-school graduation, value small class sizes and parent-engagement, and live near or have transit access to East Harlem.
What stands out
- PK through 12th grade under one roof — students never have to transition buildings, a rare arrangement in NYC.
- 100% of students have IEPs, with the school structurally designed around individualized services.
- Zero suspensions — a notable marker of a supportive, restraint-light approach.
- Average class size of 18.7 keeps adult-to-student ratios tight, smaller than the district's 18.8.
- Parent-principal trust at 98% is among the strongest family-confidence signals in the data.
Things to consider
- No standardized proficiency data is available, so academic outcomes cannot be benchmarked against other schools.
- Teacher signals are the soft spot: only 75% of teachers rate instruction quality as strong and 77% trust the principal, both meaningfully below parent numbers and the district average.
- The peer schools listed (Success Academy Harlem, Harlem Village Academy) are selective-enrollment charters serving general-education students — comparing P.S. 138 to them side-by-side is apples-to-oranges.
- The neighborhood has high poverty and limited homeownership, factors families often weigh when thinking about afterschool access and peer networks outside school.
- This is not a general-education option; enrollment is reserved for students whose IEPs place them within the District 75 network.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 5
Geographically in East Harlem among high-flying charters like Success Academy and Harlem Village Academy, P.S. 138 serves an entirely different population as a District 75 special-education school. Its standing should be judged against similar District 75 schools, not the test-score-driven neighborhood peers.
Academics
No ELA, math, or science proficiency data was reported for this school, so standardized-test performance cannot be summarized. For a District 75 school serving 100% of students with IEPs, state proficiency assessments are typically not the right yardstick anyway — progress is usually measured against individualized goals rather than grade-level cut scores. Parents who want traditional academic benchmarking will need to ask the school directly about student outcomes.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here is defined by an unusually wide trust gap between families and staff. Parents describe deep confidence in leadership and teachers (98% and 96% trust respectively), and the school issued zero suspensions, a remarkable figure compared with the district's 1.2% suspension average. Teachers, however, are markedly less bullish: only 75% rate their own instruction quality as strong (vs. a district 88%) and just 77% trust the principal, well below parent levels. The pattern suggests a building where families feel deeply connected but staff culture may be under strain.
Community
The student body is 61% Hispanic, 29% Black, 6% White, 3% Asian, with a diversity index of 56% and an economic need index of 91.9 — meaning the vast majority of students come from low-income households. The neighborhood around the school mirrors that profile, with a 33% poverty rate and a median household income of $36,709. Because every student has an IEP, the defining feature of this community is shared family experience with special education services rather than ethnicity or zip code.
Neighborhood
P.S. 138 sits in the northern section of East Harlem, a working-class, predominantly renter neighborhood where only 8% of households own their homes and 10.8% have children living at home. The median household income of $36,709 and 33% poverty rate make this one of the lower-income census tracts in Manhattan, and the 29.9% college-degree rate is modest. Despite the economic pressure, the area is well-served by transit on the 4, 5, and 6 lines.
Getting to school is easy by subway: the 125 St station on the 4, 5, and 6 lines is about a 4-minute walk, with the 116 St (6) stop 12 minutes away and 138 St–Grand Concourse (4 and 5) about 13 minutes on foot.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 154 families responded (22% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
P.S. 138 is a District 75 school, part of the city's network of programs for students with significant disabilities. There's no application to file: a child is placed here when their IEP recommends a District 75 setting.
- 1Talk with your child's IEP team about the setting the IEP recommends.
- 2If it recommends a District 75 program, the DOE offers the seat — ask the team which programs they're considering and visit them.
District 75 is the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. In the DOE's words, it provides “highly specialized instructional support” for students with challenges such as autism, significant cognitive delays, emotional disabilities, sensory impairments and multiple disabilities.
Its classes run in schools where every student has an IEP, as special classes inside District 1–32 schools, in general education classrooms, and in agencies, hospitals and at home. The IEP team, which includes you, recommends the program and class size.
From NYC Public Schools' District 75 page, read October 17, 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 138 a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for P.S. 138 yet on Motley. It's a public school serving grades Pre-K to 12 in East Harlem (North).
- What grades does P.S. 138 serve?
- P.S. 138 serves grades Pre-K to 12.
- How do students get into P.S. 138?
- P.S. 138 is a District 75 school, part of the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. There's no application: a child is placed here when their IEP team recommends a District 75 setting.
- Is P.S. 138 public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 138 is a public school in District 75, the city's citywide special education district.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 138 in?
- P.S. 138 is in East Harlem (North), Manhattan.