P.S. 176 Cambria Heights

Proficiency here is strong and getting stronger. The 2025 ELA rate of 79.1% sits about 22 points above the District 29 average of roughly 57%, and math at 81.8% runs about 28 points above the district's 54%. The trend is clearly improving — math climbed from 48.5% in 2016 to 81.8% this year, with the sharpest jumps coming after the pandemic dip. Results are consistent across grades, with fifth-grade ELA (81.2%) and fourth-grade math (83.3%) leading the way. This is the kind of academic trajectory most zoned schools in the district would envy.

The school's signature strength is how families feel about it: parent satisfaction sits at 92%, parent-teacher trust at 94%, and "strong relationships" at 95%. Teacher-reported safety is also high at 94%, in line with the district. But two signals deserve a parent's attention. First, teacher instruction quality is 82%, notably below the district average of 88%, and both teacher-principal trust and teacher collegial trust sit at 77% — meaningfully lower than the parent-side numbers. Second, while daily attendance is healthy at 93.5%, chronic absenteeism is 81.4%, meaning the vast majority of students miss 10% or more of the school year. The good news: zero suspensions over three years shows a school that handles behavior without exclusion.

The student body is 76% Black, with 11% identifying as Native American — an unusually high share for a New York City public school — plus smaller groups of Hispanic (6%), Asian (5%), and White students. Twelve percent of students have IEPs and the economic need index is 39%, indicating a meaningful but not dominant share of students from lower-income households. The surrounding census tract is markedly more affluent than the school population would suggest: a median household income over $115,000 and 86% homeownership point to a stable, family-rooted neighborhood that may draw some students from outside the zone while others arrive from more varied circumstances.

Cambria Heights is a residential southeast Queens neighborhood with the feel of a commuter suburb more than a city block. Six-figure median incomes, a poverty rate under 6%, and a homeownership rate above 86% make it one of the more stable, family-anchored parts of the borough. Fewer than 15% of households have children at home, which suggests many of the surrounding blocks are long-time owners aging in place — a quieter, slower-changing setting than most of the city.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families rely on cars, school buses, or local bus service for the daily trip.