At a Glance
A quietly turnaround South Jamaica elementary where math scores more than tripled and discipline is essentially nonexistent.
Best suited for
Zoned families in South Jamaica who want a tight, high-trust school community and don't need subway-accessible commuting — especially parents willing to push attendance habits at home.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Math proficiency has more than tripled in a decade, from 20.5% in 2016 to 72.4% in 2025, with the strongest gains coming post-pandemic.
- Zero suspensions reported for three consecutive school years (2021-22 through 2023-24), an unusually clean discipline record for a District 28 elementary.
- Parent-principal trust sits at a perfect 100% and parent-teacher trust at 99%, with 418 families responding to the survey — a strong signal of engaged families.
- Despite an economic need index of 77, overall performance (2.74/4) sits comfortably above the district average of 2.51/4.
- The student body includes a 13% Native American share, noticeably higher than most NYC elementary schools.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 61% is high and worth asking the school directly about — even strong academics lose ground when kids miss this many days.
- Attendance overall (89.5%) trails the district average of 91.4%, reinforcing the absenteeism concern.
- PTA fundraising is roughly $10 per student versus a district average near $165, which can limit enrichment, field trips, and classroom extras.
- The nearest subway (E, J, Z at Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer or Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport) is a 19- to 20-minute walk, so this is a car, bus, or walk-to-school zone rather than a transit-commute neighborhood.
- Teacher-reported instruction quality is 88%, modestly below the district average of 91.7% — worth asking what classroom time looks like in practice.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 28
P.S. 160 sits comfortably above the District 28 average on the overall quality score (2.74 vs. 2.51) and is competitive with mid-tier peers like P.S. 101, P.S. 121, and P.S. 144, though it trails the district's top performers such as P.S. 196 and the Academy for Excellence through the Arts. It's a solid middle-of-the-pack school in a district with real standouts.
Academics
This is one of the more dramatic academic trajectories in the data. Math proficiency went from 20.5% in 2016 to 72.4% in 2025, with the steepest gains coming after the pandemic dip (19.5% in 2022). ELA climbed more gradually but steadily, from 24% to 64.6%, landing just above the district average of 62.8%. Both subjects now sit at or above District 28's middle, and the overall score of 2.74/4 edges out the district's 2.51/4 — a meaningful gap for a school with an economic need index of 77%.
Culture
The trust numbers here are extraordinary: 100% of parents report strong relationships with teachers, 99% trust their child's teacher, and 100% trust the principal. Teacher-reported safety is 95%, slightly above the district average, and the school has reported zero suspensions for three straight years — a rare feat. The cloud is attendance: 89.5% overall (below the 91.4% district average) and chronic absenteeism at 61%, with Asian students (70%) and Black students (67%) the most affected subgroups. Day-to-day, the school reads as warm and tightly held by families, but a large share of students are missing enough school to drag down outcomes.
Community
About 589 students attend, and the body looks like South Jamaica itself: 37% Black, 28% Hispanic, 17% Asian, and a notably high 13% Native American share, with a diversity index of 82%. Sixteen percent of students have IEPs and 77% qualify as economically needy — meaning most families here are working-class or below. The neighborhood around the school reflects that mix: median household income of about $74,000, 13% in poverty, and a homeownership rate under half, suggesting many kids live in rental housing nearby.
Neighborhood
South Jamaica is a working-class, family-oriented pocket of Queens where roughly one in five households includes children and the typical home is worth around $588,000 — high for the area but reflecting the broader Queens market more than local wealth. Only 18% of adults here hold a bachelor's degree, and the population leans heavily renter. The school sits in a residential stretch where most families can plausibly walk to the building itself, even if transit to the rest of the city takes planning.
The school is a 19- to 20-minute walk from the E, J, and Z lines at either Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer or Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport, so most families will arrive by car, bus, or on foot from the surrounding blocks rather than by subway.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 418 families responded (68% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Compare head-to-head
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop earns an overall rating of 69/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run above the District 28 average.
- What grades does P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop serve?
- P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop?
- P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop is a public school in NYC Community School District 28.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop in?
- P.S. 160 Walter Francis Bishop is in South Jamaica, Queens.