P.S. 527 - East Side School for Social Action

P.S. 527's proficiency numbers are well above District 2 averages: 82.4% of students hit proficiency in ELA (vs. a district average around 73%) and 85.8% in math (vs. about 73%). The overall school score of 3.36 out of 4 also clears the district average of 2.91. Math has been the steadier of the two subjects over the past several years, hovering in the mid-80s, while ELA dipped from a peak of 90.7% in 2017 to around 80% in 2022–2024 before ticking back up to 82.4% in 2025. Scores are strong across grades 3–5, with fifth-graders posting the highest numbers in both subjects.

The day-to-day feel here reads warm and trusting. Parent satisfaction is 95% (vs. district 92%), parent-teacher trust sits at 96%, and parent-principal trust is 93%. Teachers rate their own instructional quality at 94% and trust in their principal at 95%, with 96% reporting the school feels safe — all above district averages. The most striking climate data point is discipline. The school has reported zero suspensions for three consecutive years (2021-22 through 2023-24), which is meaningfully below the district average suspension rate and signals a restorative rather than punitive culture. Attendance is solid at 93.6% (above the district's 91.95%), though chronic absenteeism is reported at 82.2% — a high figure that seems at odds with the otherwise strong climate data and is worth asking the school about directly. Teacher survey response was 28 teachers; family surveys came from 133 families.

The 436 students at P.S. 527 are roughly 50% White, 17% Asian, 14% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, and 6% Black, with a diversity index of 76%. That mix is notably more varied than the surrounding Upper East Side-Yorkville neighborhood, which is wealthier and less diverse by census measures — a reminder that a zoned Manhattan elementary can pull families from across the borough. The school's economic need index of 18.3 is on the low side (less need), and 21% of students have IEPs. PTA fundraising totaled about $190,000 last year, or roughly $435 per student — solid but below the district average of about $517 per student.

Upper East Side-Yorkville is one of Manhattan's wealthier residential pockets, with a median household income around $137,000, a poverty rate under 8%, and roughly three-quarters of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. About 13% of households include children under 18, and homeownership is relatively low (around 29%) — most families live in rentals in this stretch. The neighborhood skews older and affluent, but the school itself draws a more demographically varied mix than the census tract alone would predict.

Families have three subway options within a roughly 6–8 minute walk: the Q at 96 St and 86 St, and the 6 at 96 St. Bus coverage along the East Side crosstown and uptown corridors also serves the area.