P.S. 165 Robert E. Simon

P.S. 165's current proficiency rates — 54.3% in ELA and 46.1% in math — land below district averages of about 59% and 54% respectively, and the school's overall quality review of 2.01 out of 4 is also a notch below the district's 2.27. But the trend line is the more interesting story: ELA proficiency has climbed from 29.8% in 2016 to 54.3% in 2025, and math from 26.7% to 46.1% over the same span. Scores have bounced around year to year since 2019, with 2024 dipping before ELA bounced back in 2025. By grade, third and fourth graders perform reasonably, but fifth-grade math drops to 38.7%, which suggests something is happening in that final year that the school and parents should watch closely.

The climate picture here is genuinely strong on relationships and trust, but complicated by a serious attendance challenge. Parent satisfaction is 97% (well above the district's 88%), parent-teacher trust is 97%, and parent-principal trust hits 98%. Teachers report 99% safety and 93% trust in their principal — both above district norms. The school has reported zero suspensions for three consecutive years, which is remarkable for any city elementary. The flip side is that chronic absenteeism sits at 57.8%, meaning a majority of students miss enough school to be flagged — that figure is meaningfully above what you'd typically want to see, even in a post-pandemic city. Attendance rate is 89.2%, just a hair below the district's 90.4%. The trust and engagement are real; the attendance question is the one parents should ask about directly.

P.S. 165's student body is majority Hispanic (51%), with White students making up 22%, Black students 17%, Asian students 8%, and a small multiracial share. The economic need index of 60.8 means a majority of students come from households facing financial pressure, and 19% of students have IEPs. The surrounding neighborhood census tract looks quite different — a $100K median income, 16.7% poverty rate, and 60.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree — which tells you the school draws from a more economically mixed population than its Upper West Side address might suggest. The diversity index of 70% reflects a genuinely integrated student body.

The school sits in the Manhattan Valley portion of the Upper West Side, a neighborhood with a $100,000 median household income, a 16.7% poverty rate, and 60.9% of adults holding at least a bachelor's degree. Homeownership is relatively low at 28%, and the median home value runs around $1.05 million — typical of this stretch of Manhattan. About 14% of households have children, which is modest for the city. It's a neighborhood of renters and owners side by side, with a mix of long-time families and newer arrivals drawn by Columbia-adjacent housing and the 1 train.

Very well connected by the 1 train: Cathedral Pkwy (110 St) is about a three-minute walk, 103 St is roughly six minutes, and 116 St-Columbia University is about eight minutes away. That gives families a clean crosstown-to-downtown commute without transfers.