At a Glance
A Port Morris elementary where nearly a decade of academic gains meets one of the most engaged parent bodies in the district
Best suited for
Families who want a neighborhood school with a deeply engaged parent community and a staff clearly working hard to climb — and who are prepared to be active partners in their child's attendance and learning.
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
- ELA proficiency has nearly tripled since 2016 — the kind of sustained, year-over-year improvement most schools only dream about
- 97% parent satisfaction paired with an 82% family survey response rate, signaling an unusually engaged parent community
- A program-rich campus (90/100) offering debate, drumline, ballroom dancing, Lego Robotics, and Specialized High School Test Prep alongside core academics
- Strong early-grade results — Grade 4 math at 72.2% — suggest the foundation is being laid well in the lower school
Things to consider
- Teacher-reported safety at 61% is meaningfully below the district average of 80.5% — worth asking the principal what that looks and feels like in the building day to day
- Chronic absenteeism at 76.4% means a large share of students are missing significant school time, which can undermine even strong instruction
- Upper-grade proficiency drops off noticeably (Grade 6 ELA at 22.5%, Grade 8 math at 15.3%), so the middle-school years are where your child may need the most outside support
- The school still trails district averages on both ELA and math, even with its impressive gains — context matters when comparing to other District 7 options
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
P.S. 5 sits below the District 7 average on the overall quality score (1.48 vs. 2.01) and trails the district on test proficiency, but its trajectory of improvement is among the strongest you can find in any peer school. Several nearby charter schools post higher overall scores, but P.S. 5's gains reflect real instructional change rather than the enrollment selectivity some charters rely on.
Academics
Test scores have climbed steadily and steeply: ELA proficiency rose from 14.5% in 2016 to 39.2% in 2025, and math from 11.3% to 34.9% — nearly a tripling in ELA over the decade. That said, current proficiency remains well below the District 7 averages of 51.3% (ELA) and 49% (math), and there is a notable drop-off in the upper grades, with Grade 6 ELA at just 22.5% and Grade 8 math at 15.3%. The gains are real and accelerating, but the school is climbing from far behind.
Culture
Here is the paradox of P.S. 5: families love it, but teachers feel less safe. Parent satisfaction is 97%, parent-teacher trust 96%, and an 82% family survey response rate signals a community that is unusually invested in the school. Teacher-reported safety, however, sits at 61% — well below the district average of 80.5% — and that gap is worth asking the principal about directly. Attendance is solid at 93% (above the district's 91.1%), but chronic absenteeism is high at 76.4%, meaning many students miss significant chunks of school. Suspensions are low and stable, which is reassuring.
Community
P.S. 5's 567 students reflect the surrounding Melrose neighborhood closely — 70% Hispanic and 27% Black, with an economic need index of 94.7%, meaning nearly every family qualifies for economic support. Twenty-seven percent of students have IEPs, and the school runs a dedicated ELL program, so this is genuinely a place built around high-need learners. The diversity index is moderate at 43%, reflecting a community that is largely working-class Latino and Black rather than broadly multicultural.
Neighborhood
Melrose is a working-class, predominantly renter neighborhood where the median household income is around $30,000 and more than a third of residents live below the poverty line. Homeownership is unusually low at just 10%, and the share of adults with a bachelor's degree sits at about 14%. Households with children make up roughly 16% of the area, which is lower than some of the family-dense parts of the city.
Three subway options make this an easy commute: the Jackson Av station (2 5) is about a four-minute walk, E 149 St (6) is around six minutes, and E 143 St-St Mary's St (6) is roughly eight minutes away.
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
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science 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) · 505 families responded (82% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 5 Port Morris 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
District 7 is a school-choice district, so it has no elementary zones: no address guarantees a seat at P.S. 5 Port Morris. Families across the district apply on MySchools, and seats go to priority groups first (siblings, then families in the school's area — District 7 is split into a north and a south area), then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank every school you'd accept, in true preference order — with no zoned seat to fall back on, a longer list matters.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. P.S. 5 Port Morris admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- The Port Morris School of Community Leadership (P.S./M.S. 5)Unscreened71 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
Open house
Sat, Nov 7, · 10:00 AM · In person
Open house
Thu, Nov 12, · 4:00 PM · In person
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 5 Port Morris a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 5 Port Morris earns an overall rating of 37/100 — 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 below the District 7 average.
- What grades does P.S. 5 Port Morris serve?
- P.S. 5 Port Morris serves grades Pre-K to 8.
- How do students get into P.S. 5 Port Morris?
- P.S. 5 Port Morris admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is P.S. 5 Port Morris public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 5 Port Morris is a public school in NYC Community School District 7.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 5 Port Morris in?
- P.S. 5 Port Morris is in Melrose, Bronx.