At a Glance
A screened public school with college-prep rigor and an exceptional arts program, drawing top applicants from across the Rockaways and beyond.
Best suited for
Families in or near the Rockaways (or willing to make the A/S commute) with academically motivated middle-schoolers who want a screened, college-prep environment with strong arts and a calm disciplinary culture — and who are prepared for the competitive admissions process.
Overall Rating
Grades 3–8
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
High school
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- 9.1% offer rate — one of the most competitive screened middle schools in Queens, with 1,414 applicants for 131 seats.
- A 100/100 program richness score that includes AP courses, a Carnegie Hall program, Shakespeare, robotics, and a deep arts catalog spanning visual art, theater, dance, band, and film.
- Zero suspensions in 2023-24 — a rare climate signal in a school of this size.
- Parent satisfaction at 95% and parent-principal trust at 94%, both well above district norms.
- Grades 6–12 on one campus, so students don't face the typical middle-to-high-school transition disruption.
Things to consider
- The 86.4% chronic absenteeism rate is high and worth asking the school about directly, even though overall attendance remains strong.
- Teacher-principal trust at 71% sits noticeably below other climate measures — a signal that staff relations with leadership may be a live issue internally.
- Grade 8 proficiency (77.8% ELA, 70.2% math) trails the rest of the school, so ask how that year is supported.
- PTA fundraising of $101 per student is slightly below the district average of $121 — a well-funded school, but not the most aggressively resourced PTA in the area.
- It's a screened school: admission isn't guaranteed for any zoned neighborhood family, and the long A/S train ride makes daily commutes tough for families outside the Rockaways.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 27
Scholars' Academy is a clear standout in District 27 — overall score 3.42/4 versus the district average of 2.27/4, with proficiency rates roughly 30 points above the district mean in both ELA and math. Among the listed district peers, only the Success Academy charters outscore it, which underscores how selective this screened public school is within an already-mixed district.
Academics
Test scores land roughly 30 percentage points above the District 27 average in both ELA (87.1% vs. 56.1%) and math (83.9% vs. 57.3%). The trajectory dipped after the pandemic — ELA fell from 91.9% in 2019 to 75.2% in 2024 — but the 2025 numbers show a meaningful rebound, especially in math. One thing worth flagging: Grade 8 proficiency (77.8% ELA, 70.2% math) is notably weaker than Grades 6 and 7, suggesting a bump in the transition year that families should know about.
Culture
Day-to-day climate is calm — zero suspensions in 2023-24, down from two the year before — and parent satisfaction runs at 95%, well above the district's 92.6%. Parents report high trust in teachers (94%) and the principal (94%), and 92% of teachers rate instruction quality highly. Two things deserve honest attention: chronic absenteeism sits at 86.4%, which is high even for a high-performing school, and teacher-to-principal trust is only 71%, a meaningful gap compared to other survey measures that hints at some internal friction. Attendance overall, though, is strong at 94.8% versus a district average near 90%.
Community
The 1,133-student body is one of the more racially balanced in the area: 39% White, 21% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 16% Black, with 15% of students receiving special education services. The economic need index of 37.4 is below the citywide average, signaling a student body skewing more affluent than typical — and that matches the surrounding neighborhood, where the median household income is $115,231 and 65.9% of households own their homes. The screened admissions process means families here tend to be invested, and the diversity index of 79% reflects that the school draws from a broad geographic and demographic mix.
Neighborhood
The school anchors the Breezy Point-Belle Harbor-Rockaway Park-Broad Channel neighborhood, a coastal stretch known for its strong homeowner presence, low poverty rate (9.3%), and a population where nearly half of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. It's a family-oriented beach community where sidewalks, beach access, and a small-town feel shape daily life. Families get to school primarily via the A and S trains, with the Beach 105 St station about a 4-minute walk and Beach 98 St about a 5-minute walk from the building.
Beach 105 St (A, S) is about a 4-minute walk and Beach 98 St (A, S) about a 5-minute walk; Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St (A, S) is roughly 13 minutes on foot.
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
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) · 741 families responded (63% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. We don't have Scholars' Academy's program list, so read how each of its programs admits on MySchools before you rank it.
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.
- 2Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Scholars' Academy admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Scholars' AcademyScreened
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Screened programs rank the 7th-grade core-course average, so last year's final grades are the ones that count.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
Tour
Mon, Nov 16, · 9:00 AM · In person
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Scholars' Academy a good school?
- On Motley, Scholars' Academy earns an overall rating of 86/100 — 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 above the District 27 average. Its high school grades have their own rating, 94/100, from graduation and Regents results.
- What grades does Scholars' Academy serve?
- Scholars' Academy serves grades 6 to 12.
- How do students get into Scholars' Academy?
- Scholars' Academy is a screened school — it admits by application, ranking applicants on their course grades (4th grade for middle school, the 7th-grade core-course average for high school); a few schools add an assessment, writing sample, or interview.
- Is Scholars' Academy public, charter, or private?
- Scholars' Academy is a public school in NYC Community School District 27.
- What neighborhood is Scholars' Academy in?
- Scholars' Academy is in Breezy Point-Belle Harbor-Rockaway Park-Broad Channel, Queens.