P.S. 144 Col Jeromus Remsen

This is a high-performing school on both subjects. ELA proficiency sits at 81.5% versus a district average of about 63%, and math is even stronger at 87.6% — roughly 25 points above the district. Both subjects show steady, meaningful gains since 2016, when ELA was 64% and math 66%; math especially has climbed roughly 22 points across the decade. Scores are consistent across grades 3 through 5, with each grade band above 78% in ELA and above 85% in math, which suggests real schoolwide consistency rather than a single strong cohort carrying the average.

Day to day, this school reads as calm and orderly. Attendance is 94.4% — meaningfully above the district average of 91.4% — and zero students were suspended in any of the past three years. Teachers and parents both report strong trust in the building: parent-teacher trust is 96%, teacher-principal trust is 97%, and 100% of teachers say relationships are strong and that they feel safe in the building. One figure worth flagging at the next parent tour: the field labeled chronic absenteeism sits at 87%, and the by-group breakdown looks more like an attendance-rate-percentage than a chronic-absence percentage, so it is worth asking the school to walk you through what they actually report. Parent satisfaction at 91% is slightly below the district average of 92.6%, a small but real gap worth asking about.

The student body roughly mirrors its Forest Hills surroundings — Asian (38%) and White (32%) students together make up 70% of enrollment, with Hispanic students at 19% and multiracial students at 10%. Black students represent only 1% of the school. With an economic need index of just 20.6 — far below the citywide norm — families here are largely middle to upper-middle class. The diversity index of 75% reflects the mix of Asian, White, and Hispanic students rather than the traditional Black/White framing many NYC schools carry.

Forest Hills is a leafy, established Queens neighborhood where about 18% of households have children, the median household income is around $104,000, and roughly 60% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Homeownership sits near 50% with a median home value around $608,000 — the kind of neighborhood where families put down roots and stay. The local poverty rate of 7.8% is well below city norms, and PTA fundraising of about $176 per student reflects the level of family investment.

Most families will walk or drive to school. The nearest subway option is Forest Hills-71 Av (E, F, M, R lines), about a 13-minute walk, with 67 Av (M, R) and 75 Av (E, F) each about a 17-minute walk.