At a Glance
A high-achieving Bayside elementary where Asian-American families anchor one of District 26's strongest academic cultures
Best suited for
Families who want excellent academics in a tight-knit, family-oriented Asian-American community, and who can manage a car-based routine given the lack of nearby subway access.
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
- Top-tier academics with ELA and math proficiency well above district averages
- Zero suspensions across three consecutive school years
- 100% teacher-reported safety — a rare mark in NYC
- PTA fundraising of $152/student, roughly 60% above district norm
- 97% teacher instruction quality rating, with 99% collegial trust among teachers
Things to consider
- No subway access within walking distance — a car or bus commute is effectively required
- Limited demographic diversity, especially for families seeking a more mixed cultural environment
- With 767 students, this is a large elementary school; average class size is 25.5
- Chronic absenteeism shows meaningful subgroup variation that the school should be able to explain
- Bayside housing costs are high — median home values approach $960,000
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 26
District 26 is already one of Queens' strongest, and P.S. 203 sits comfortably among its top elementary schools — alongside peers like P.S. 98 Douglaston, P.S. 94 David D. Porter, and P.S. 41 Crocheron. It outperforms the district average on every academic and survey metric reported.
Academics
Both subjects sit well above the District 26 average (ELA 75.8%, math 80.2%). Math proficiency has climbed steadily from 86.9% in 2016 to 93.9% in 2025 — the school's strongest year on record. ELA bounced back from a dip to 81% in 2024 to 90.7% in 2025, also a high. Scores hold up across tested grades: Grade 3 hits 88.8% ELA / 90.8% math, Grade 4 reaches 92.4% ELA / 98.2% math, and Grade 5 lands at 91.3% ELA / 92.9% math. The overall quality score of 3.69/4 sits comfortably above the district's 3.12/4.
Culture
The survey numbers here are striking. Teacher-reported safety is 100%, teacher instruction quality is 97% (vs. district 90%), teacher collegial trust is 99%, and parents report 96% parent-teacher trust and 97% trust in the principal — all meaningfully above district averages. Zero suspensions over three years (2021-22 through 2023-24) reflects a calm school environment. Daily attendance is strong at 95.3%, and roughly 90.5% of students are not chronically absent — though the chronic-absenteeism figure shows real subgroup variation: Hispanic students fare noticeably worse than the largely Asian student body, a disparity worth asking the school about.
Community
P.S. 203's enrollment is 78% Asian, with smaller shares of Hispanic (10%), White (8%), Black (2%), and multiracial (3%) students. The school's diversity index sits at 45%, reflecting the demographic concentration rather than broad representation. The economic need index of 33.2 is well below the citywide norm, signaling a relatively low-need population. PTA fundraising comes in at $152 per student — about 60% above the district average of $96 — a sign of organized, resourced parent involvement. Eleven percent of students have IEPs.
Neighborhood
Bayside is a stable, family-oriented Queens neighborhood. Median household income is about $104,700, the poverty rate is 8.7%, and nearly two-thirds of households own their homes — with a median home value approaching $957,000. Forty-seven percent of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and just under 20% of households have children. It's a place where families put down roots, and the school reflects that stability.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school — families here rely on cars, school buses, or driving to access P.S. 203.
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) · 409 families responded (51% 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. 203 Oakland Gardens 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. 203 Oakland Gardens 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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens earns an overall rating of 92/100 — 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 26 average.
- What grades does P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens serve?
- P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens?
- P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens is a public school in NYC Community School District 26.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens in?
- P.S. 203 Oakland Gardens is in Bayside, Queens.