P.S./M.S. 138 Sunrise

The raw numbers — 43.5% ELA proficiency and 40.2% math proficiency — sit well below the District 29 averages of 56.9% and 53.7%, and the overall quality score of 1.67/4 is meaningfully below the district's 2.21. But the multi-year trend is the more interesting story: ELA proficiency has nearly doubled since 2016 (23.3% to 43.5%), and math proficiency has gone from a startling 8.7% to 40.2%. The gains from 2022 onward are especially sharp. One wrinkle worth noting: grade 6 math proficiency drops to 15%, a notable dip from grade 5 (38%) that rebounds by grade 8 (52.7%) — a pattern that often signals a tough transition year for incoming middle-schoolers.

The day-to-day culture here looks strikingly healthy. Teachers rate instruction quality at 98% (well above the district average of 88%) and 92% trust their principal. Parents report 97% trust in teachers and 96% trust in the principal — exceptional figures. The school logged zero suspensions across 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, which is remarkable and suggests a restorative rather than punitive approach (the school explicitly offers Restorative Circles). The one concerning signal is chronic absenteeism at 55.1% — meaning more than half of students miss 10% or more of school days — which drags the attendance rate down to 87.9% versus the district's 90.9%. Attendance is the clearest area where families need to be intentional.

The student body is 74% Black, 13% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 3% White, and the rest multiracial or Native American, with a diversity index of 51%. The surrounding Rosedale neighborhood skews somewhat more diverse demographically and more middle-income than the school population suggests. About 17% of students have IEPs and the school offers ELL support, indicating it serves a range of learners. With an economic need index of 67.7 (on a scale where 100 is highest need), a meaningful share of families rely on free or reduced lunch.

Rosedale is a working- and middle-class residential pocket of eastern Queens where most families own their homes (67.3% homeownership rate) and median household income is $102,904 — comfortably above the citywide median. Poverty is relatively low at 9%, and 29.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The neighborhood reads as stable and family-oriented, though it skews older: only 15.8% of households include children, which is on the low side for a school catchment area.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so most families arrive by car, school bus, or on foot from nearby blocks. Public transit access is limited here.