P.S. 254 - The Rosa Parks School

Math proficiency at 76.4% runs nearly 20 points above the district 27 average of 57.3%, with grade 3 math at 88.4% — the school's brightest result. ELA at 52.1% sits a few points below the district's 56.1% average, and grade 5 ELA at 34.9% is a clear weak spot. The 2025 jump is striking — math up 26 points year-over-year and ELA up nearly 17 — but the historical arc is volatile rather than steady, so this reads more like a sharp rebound from a low point than a smooth climb.

The discipline picture is unusually clean — zero suspensions in each of the last three reported periods — and parents feel deeply heard, with 90% satisfaction, 95–96% trust in teachers and leadership, and a perfect 100% on strong relationships. The teacher side tells a different story: instruction quality is 64% (well below the district's 91% average) and teacher-principal trust sits at just 41%, hinting at real friction between faculty and administration even as families feel well-served. Attendance at 91.1% edges above the district average, but chronic absenteeism at 64% means roughly two-thirds of students are missing enough school to flag.

P.S. 254's enrollment of 535 is 74% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 8% White, and 3% Black, with an economic need index of 67.1 — well above the citywide figure and pointing to a working-class student body. That mix mirrors Richmond Hill's character: a middle-income Queens neighborhood where about a quarter of households have children and the median household income is in the high $70,000s. With a diversity index of 50%, the school sits in the moderate range — not the most heterogeneous in the borough, but no single group overwhelms the building beyond the Hispanic core.

Richmond Hill is a family-dense, middle-income pocket of southern Queens, with a homeownership rate near 47% and a median home value that has climbed into the high-$700Ks. About a quarter of neighborhood adults hold a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate sits at 11.7% — solidly working-class without being distressed. The feel is residential and multi-generational, with a strong South Asian and Caribbean-Hispanic presence that shows up clearly in the school population.

The school is an easy walk from the 104 St (J Z) station at about 5 minutes and from Woodhaven Blvd (J Z) at about 7 minutes, with the 111 St (J) stop a bit farther at roughly 13 minutes on foot.