P.S. 175 Henry H Garnet

P.S. 175's academic picture is mixed and clearly still recovering from the pandemic-era dip. The school's 35.5% ELA proficiency trails the District 5 average of about 54% by a wide margin, and its 44% math proficiency sits roughly seven points below the district's 51%. The trend line tells a more encouraging story: ELA jumped from a pandemic low of 11.5% in 2022 to 35.5% in 2025, and math has climbed from 14.8% to 44% over the same period. By grade, fifth graders are pulling their weight — 56.3% proficient in math and 43.8% in ELA — but fourth grade is the weak link, with only 22.5% ELA proficiency, suggesting either a tougher cohort or a transition year worth asking about.

This is where P.S. 175 shines. Teacher-rated instruction quality is 98% — ten points above the district average of 88% — and 98% of teachers say there are strong relationships in the building. Parent-principal and parent-teacher trust both register at 96%, and 90% of families say they're satisfied, essentially matching the district. The 91% teacher-reported safety rating is also above average, and the discipline trend is a quiet success: suspensions dropped from eight in 2021-22 to just two in each of the past two years. The one thing parents should know is the attendance picture — 89.4% attendance is fine, but 54.5% chronic absenteeism means more than half of students miss significant school. That's a community challenge, not necessarily a school one, and it's reflected in the test scores.

The student body is 47% Black, 39% Hispanic, 7% White, and 5% Asian, with a diversity index of 65%. An economic need index of 89.9% tells you this is a school where almost every family qualifies for economic assistance, and 21% of students have IEPs. Class sizes hover around 18-19, in line with the district. Families who choose this school are typically long-time Harlem residents or renters priced into the neighborhood — the surrounding census tract has just 12.6% homeownership and a median household income around $54,700.

P.S. 175 sits in the heart of Central Harlem, a neighborhood with deep cultural roots and a mix of longtime residents and newer arrivals. The surrounding census tract has a median household income of about $54,700, a 25.5% poverty rate, and a 36% bachelor's-degree rate — typical for this stretch of Harlem. Only 10% of households here have children, which is common in dense urban neighborhoods, but the families that do live here tend to stay put.

Transit access is genuinely convenient. The 135 St station on the 2 and 3 lines is roughly a three-minute walk, the 135 St station on the C and B is about eight minutes, and the 125 St station on the 2 and 3 is around ten minutes on foot.