P.S. 163 Alfred E. Smith

Both ELA (54.4%) and math (53.3%) proficiency are a touch below District 3 averages of 59.3% and 54%, respectively, and well off the school's own recent peaks. After years of steady gains — ELA hit 67% in 2023 and math 70.2% the same year — proficiency fell sharply in 2024 and 2025, dropping roughly 13-17 percentage points from the high. The pattern is uneven by grade: third-graders test at just 36% in ELA, while fourth- and fifth-graders land in the 56-64% range, suggesting students gain ground as they move up but the school struggles to catch kids up at the start.

The school's climate is a study in contrasts. Family-facing metrics are excellent: 94% parent satisfaction (well above the 88% district average), 95% trust in teachers, 93% trust in the principal, and 100% report strong relationships. There have been zero suspensions for three straight years, and 99% of teachers feel safe. But teacher-side metrics are softer — only 78% rate instruction quality highly and 78% trust the principal, both below district averages of 87% and 94%. Attendance is the bigger concern: an 86.9% rate lags the district's 90.4%, and 56% of students are chronically absent. Unusually, the highest absenteeism rates fall on White (84%) and Asian (84%) students, while Hispanic students (47%) attend most consistently — an inverted pattern worth asking the school about.

P.S. 163 enrolls 412 students in a building that skews Hispanic (51%) and White (23%), with Black (15%), multiracial (6%), and Asian (5%) students making up the rest — a diversity index of 72% that mirrors the cross-borough feel of Manhattan Valley. The economic need index sits at 55%, moderate for the area, and 19% of students have IEPs. Class sizes of 23 are right at the district average, but PTA fundraising of $117 per student trails the district's $627 by a wide margin, hinting that the engaged parent body brings time and energy more than dollars.

Manhattan Valley sits where the Upper West Side softens — median household income of about $100,000 is solid by city standards but well below the broader UWS, and a 16.7% poverty rate reflects a neighborhood with genuine economic mixing. Just over 60% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and 28% of households own their homes, with a median home value north of $1 million. Families with children make up about 14% of households, so this is very much a kid-and-grown-up neighborhood rather than a young-professional enclave.

Three subway options sit within a 5-7 minute walk: the 96 St station on the 1/2/3 lines (5 minutes), 103 St on the 1 (6 minutes), and 96 St on the C/B (7 minutes).