At a Glance
A PK-8 neighborhood school where parents stay fiercely loyal — but the commute demands planning
Best suited for
Families who want a PK-8 school with unusually strong parent-community bonds and whose children are headed into the stronger upper-grade programs, and who can manage a car-dependent commute.
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
- PK-8 in a single building means no middle school transition for families who stay through eighth grade.
- 98% parent trust in both teachers and principal — among the strongest community relationships in the district.
- Upper-grade results (Grades 7 and 8) exceed district averages in both ELA and math.
- Effectively zero suspensions create a calm disciplinary environment.
- An Accelerated/Honors academic track offers an enrichment pathway within an unscreened school.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 78.1% is high, and the gap is especially stark for Asian students at 91% — ask what attendance supports are in place.
- Teacher-principal trust sits at 67%, meaningfully below typical district levels, suggesting internal leadership questions.
- No subway within a 20-minute walk makes this a car- or bus-dependent commute for most families.
- Grade 5 scores lag significantly behind the rest of the school — a pattern worth understanding before enrolling a fifth-grader.
- Program breadth is modest (34.7/100 richness score) and PTA fundraising ($30/student) trails the district average of roughly $50, which may limit enrichment offerings.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 25
P.S. 219 sits below the District 25 average overall score of 2.69/4 but ahead of many peer schools in the area — the top district performers (Active Learning Elementary, P.S. 079) significantly outpace it, while several nearby schools cluster in the 80s.
Academics
Both ELA (62.8%) and math (64.3%) proficiency land a few points below district averages of 64.9% and 69.6% respectively. The longer story is more encouraging: scores climbed from roughly 48% in both subjects in 2016 to a peak around 2022-23, dipped in 2024, and partially recovered in 2025. Upper-grade performance is genuinely strong — Grade 7 ELA hits 78% and Grade 8 math reaches 72.5% — but Grade 5 results (45.9% ELA, 49.2% math) drag the overall picture down in a way that warrants a direct question to administrators.
Culture
This school has a split personality on surveys: families love it (94% satisfied, 98% trust, 100% report strong relationships), while teachers are more measured — only 80% rate instruction quality positively and just 67% trust the principal, both noticeably below the district averages of 89.6% and typical levels respectively. Discipline is essentially a non-issue with just 1 suspension all year and 97% teacher-reported safety. The attendance picture is complicated: overall attendance of 93.4% is fine, but a chronic absenteeism rate of 78.1% is high and falls especially on the Asian student population (91%). Day-to-day, expect a calm, parent-engaged environment where teachers may feel less supported by leadership than families do.
Community
P.S. 219 is a majority-Asian school (51%) with a significant Hispanic population (29%), mirroring the multilingual, family-oriented character of Kew Gardens Hills. About 29% of students have IEPs and 63% qualify as economically needy — a moderate level for the area. With 584 students across PK-8 in a single building and class sizes right at the district average of about 25, this is a full-sized neighborhood school where most kids stay together from pre-K through middle school graduation.
Neighborhood
Kew Gardens Hills is a family-dense pocket of Queens — about a quarter of households have children, and homeownership sits just above half, signaling real neighborhood stability. Median household income is roughly $85,000 and nearly half of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, putting this solidly in the middle-class professional range. The neighborhood draws families who value strong public schools and are willing to make the commute work, since public transit options near the school are limited.
The school is beyond walking distance of any subway station, so families rely on cars, school buses, or longer transit trips to get here.
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) · 365 families responded (63% rate)
Programs & Activities
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. 219 Paul Klapper 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. 219 Paul Klapper 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.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. P.S. 219 Paul Klapper admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- P.S./M.S. 219Unscreened55 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
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. 219 Paul Klapper a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 219 Paul Klapper earns an overall rating of 64/100 — 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 in line with the District 25 average.
- What grades does P.S. 219 Paul Klapper serve?
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper serves grades Pre-K to 8.
- How do students get into P.S. 219 Paul Klapper?
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is P.S. 219 Paul Klapper public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper is a public school in NYC Community School District 25.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 219 Paul Klapper in?
- P.S. 219 Paul Klapper is in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.