At a Glance
A calm, high-trust Melrose elementary where suspensions are nearly zero and families show up
Best suited for
Families rooted in or near Melrose who want a calm, family-engaged neighborhood elementary with very low discipline and strong parent-teacher trust — particularly households prioritizing an inclusive special education setting over headline test scores, and families who value being deeply connected to their child's school.
What stands out
- Zero suspensions in the reporting period — essentially absent compared to the district average of 0.84%
- Parent-teacher trust at 99% with parent satisfaction at 98%, both well above district norms
- 80% family survey response rate, signaling unusually high family engagement
- Teacher-reported safety at 91%, significantly above the district's 80.5%
- Every student has an IEP in place, indicating an intensive special education service configuration
Things to consider
- The 100% IEP rate is highly unusual for a community school and signals a very specific service model — families should confirm what placement here means for their child before enrolling
- PTA fundraising at $5 per student is well below the district's $9.62, so teacher extras and enrichment rely on other funding sources
- Teacher-rated instructional quality at 82% trails the district's 88.4%, suggesting classroom practice lags the strong climate
- Several high-scoring charter schools (91-97/100 overall) operate nearby, so families exploring options should compare directly
- Published academic proficiency data isn't available in this snapshot, which makes school-to-school academic comparisons harder
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
P.S. 17 is a traditional District 7 public school in a South Bronx educational landscape that includes high-performing charter options like South Bronx Classical Charter School II, Success Academy Bronx 1, Zeta Charter School, Academic Leadership Charter School, and Storefront Academy — most of which score in the 91-97 range on overall measures. As an unscreened zoned public school, P.S. 17 offers broad access and clearly excels on climate and family engagement relative to its district peers, even without a published overall score.
Academics
State proficiency scores aren't published for this school in the available data, so classroom effects must be read through proxy measures. The average class size of 20.5 essentially matches the district's 20.6, keeping instruction reasonably intimate. An economic need index of 92.5 means most students arrive with significant resource gaps, and the 100% IEP rate signals every student has an Individualized Education Program in place — an unusual configuration that points to intensive supports and a specific service model.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here is unusually settled. Zero suspensions against a district average of 0.84% suggests the school handles behavior through means other than removal. Family relationships are the standout: parent-teacher trust at 99% and parent satisfaction at 98% sit well above the district's 93.5% parent satisfaction figure, with parent-principal trust also strong at 89%. Teachers report safety at 91%, well above the district's 80.5%, though teacher-rated instructional quality at 82% trails the district's 88.4% — climate is clearly healthier than perceived classroom rigor.
Community
P.S. 17's student body is 55% Hispanic and 37% Black, with smaller shares of Asian, white, multi-racial, and Native American students — a profile that closely tracks the surrounding working-class Melrose neighborhood. With an economic need index of 92.5 and PTA fundraising at just $5 per student (about half the district's $9.62), most families are stretching on limited means, yet their involvement shows up strongly in the survey response rate.
Neighborhood
Melrose is a dense South Bronx neighborhood where the median household income is roughly $30,236, about 38% of residents live below the poverty line, and only about 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Homeownership sits around 10%, making this primarily a renter community, though the area is well served by subway lines and sits within reach of South Bronx job corridors.
Subway access is convenient — Jackson Avenue (2, 5) is about a four-minute walk, Prospect Avenue (2, 5) about five minutes, and the 6 train at East 149th Street is about ten minutes on foot.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 579 families responded (80% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
P.S. X017 is a District 75 school, part of the city's network of programs for students with significant disabilities. There's no application to file: a child is placed here when their IEP recommends a District 75 setting.
- 1Talk with your child's IEP team about the setting the IEP recommends.
- 2If it recommends a District 75 program, the DOE offers the seat — ask the team which programs they're considering and visit them.
District 75 is the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. In the DOE's words, it provides “highly specialized instructional support” for students with challenges such as autism, significant cognitive delays, emotional disabilities, sensory impairments and multiple disabilities.
Its classes run in schools where every student has an IEP, as special classes inside District 1–32 schools, in general education classrooms, and in agencies, hospitals and at home. The IEP team, which includes you, recommends the program and class size.
From NYC Public Schools' District 75 page, read October 17, 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. X017 a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for P.S. X017 yet on Motley. It's a public school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Melrose.
- What grades does P.S. X017 serve?
- P.S. X017 serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. X017?
- P.S. X017 is a District 75 school, part of the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. There's no application: a child is placed here when their IEP team recommends a District 75 setting.
- Is P.S. X017 public, charter, or private?
- P.S. X017 is a public school in District 75, the city's citywide special education district.
- What neighborhood is P.S. X017 in?
- P.S. X017 is in Melrose, Bronx.