P.S./M.S. 114 Belle Harbor

The school's 78% ELA proficiency and 72.7% math proficiency are well above District 27 averages of roughly 56% and 57% — and that's the headline number. The longer story is that performance has bounced around since 2019, dipping notably in 2022 (ELA 63%, math just 52%) before climbing back to current levels, which suggests some real recovery work happening. There's a striking pattern by grade: third graders test at 88.8% in ELA and 91.4% in math, but scores slide as students move up, with eighth graders at 55.6% in ELA and just 44.7% in math. The elementary years are genuinely strong; the middle school years are where things soften.

This is a school where adults like being there. Parent satisfaction is 96%, parent-teacher trust is 98%, and 100% of teachers report strong relationships with families and feel safe at school — these are unusually high numbers across the board. The school reported zero suspensions in 2023-24, the second consecutive year without one, and teacher-to-principal trust sits at 97%. One number parents should know about is the chronic absenteeism rate of 77.9% — high for a school with this profile, even accounting for lingering pandemic patterns. The 92.6% daily attendance rate is solid, but the gap between attendance and chronic absence suggests a meaningful share of families are missing extended stretches.

The student body is 81% White, 14% Hispanic, and roughly 2% each Asian and multiracial, with very small Black and other groups — a diversity index of 37%, which is low by city standards and a fair reflection of who actually lives in this stretch of the Rockaways. The neighborhood's median household income is $115,231 and the homeownership rate is 65.9%, so this is a relatively stable, homeowner-heavy community sending its kids to a zoned school together. The 24% IEP rate is higher than many peer schools, and the school offers ELL support as well.

Belle Harbor sits in the Breezy Point–Belle Harbor–Rockaway Park–Broad Channel area, a coastal Queens neighborhood of single-family homes and a tight residential feel. Median household income of $115,231 and a 9.3% poverty rate put it well above city norms, and 65.9% of households own their homes. About 18% of households have children, and 45.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. It's a community where people settle for the long term, which helps explain why a zoned K-8 like this can sustain strong family engagement year after year.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school — families get here by car, school bus, or the local Q MTA bus routes that serve the Rockaways. Driving is the practical default for most families.