P.S. 142 Amalia Castro

In 2025, 47.8% of students reached proficiency in ELA and 46.2% in math — both close to the District 1 averages of roughly 51.7% and 47.4%, and a substantial rebound from the 26% ELA and 28.9% math posted in 2024. The longer trend tells a bumpy story: scores climbed from 2016 lows through 2019, dipped during the pandemic years (16.9% ELA in 2022), and have now recovered to their highest point on record. The improvement is real, but the picture looks very different by grade: Grade 3 students are thriving (66.7% ELA, 73.3% math), while Grade 5 proficiency drops to 34.4% in ELA and just 13.8% in math — a steep slide worth asking the school about.

The climate numbers here are striking. Parent satisfaction is 99%, parent-teacher trust and parent-principal trust both sit at 100%, and 96% of families returned the school survey — a response rate most schools would envy. Teachers report strong instruction quality (90%) and trust in their principal (89%), though teacher-reported safety (82%) is below the district average of roughly 91%, and teacher collegial trust is 90%. Attendance tells a more complicated story: the 86.6% rate is below the District 1 average of 88.9%, and chronic absenteeism is high at 47.6% — with female students (53.4%) missing school at noticeably higher rates than male students (42.3%). On the discipline side, the school reported zero suspensions across the last three years — a clean record that suggests adults are handling behavior without removals.

The student body is 330 children across Pre-K through 5th grade, with an average class size of 21 — identical to the district average. Demographically, 76% of students are Hispanic, 16% Black, 5% White, 2% Native American, and 1% multi-racial, giving the school a relatively concentrated (rather than evenly diverse) profile that closely tracks the surrounding neighborhood. The economic need index of 89.7 — meaning roughly 9 in 10 students are considered high-need — and a 25% IEP rate reflect a school serving families who often need extra support. The diversity index of 42% is on the lower side, but the cultural cohesion runs deep.

P.S. 142 is rooted in the Lower East Side, a neighborhood shaped by waves of immigration and a long tradition of working-class and mixed-income life. The census picture shows a median household income of about $58,000 and a poverty rate around 23%, alongside a 44.4% rate of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher — a neighborhood where economic diversity is real and visible. Just 6.5% of households include children, reflecting the area's mix of longtime families, young adults, and seniors. The school's 76% Hispanic enrollment mirrors the neighborhood's deep Latino roots.

Families can reach P.S. 142 via the Delancey St-Essex St station, served by the F, M, J, and Z lines within about a 4–5 minute walk. The East Broadway F train stop is roughly a 9-minute walk away. Several lines converge nearby, which makes car-free commutes workable for many families.