At a Glance
A tight-knit Catholic elementary where faith, family, and a 12:1 ratio put every child within arm's reach.
Best suited for
Queens Catholic families — especially those within driving distance of eastern Flushing — who want an affordable, faith-centered elementary education in an intimate setting where their child will be personally known.
What stands out
- Exceptionally small enrollment of 76 students means every child is genuinely known by name, not just as a file.
- A 12:1 student-teacher ratio that is unusually low even by private-school standards, supporting real individualized attention.
- Tuition of $4,600–$6,000 is well below the typical NYC private school range, making Catholic education accessible to a broader cross-section of families.
- 1:1 technology access and a STEM program at the elementary level reflect a commitment to modern academic preparation alongside faith formation.
- Parent reviews consistently cite caring faculty and a strong sense of community as the school's defining qualities.
Things to consider
- The very small size is a double-edged sword: wonderful for closeness, but it means a limited peer group and fewer age-mates for social life, especially in the upper elementary grades.
- No subway within a 20-minute walk makes this a car-dependent commute — a real factor for families without easy access to a vehicle.
- As a Catholic academy, faith formation and religious identity are woven throughout the school day; families should be comfortable with that framework.
- Smaller Catholic academies sometimes offer fewer enrichment electives or extracurricular breadth than larger institutions, so families should ask specifically about clubs, sports, and arts programming.
- Rolling admissions offer flexibility, but popular grade levels may fill before later applicants apply.
Identity
St Mel is a parish-affiliated Roman Catholic elementary school serving coed classes from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Its stated philosophy centers on the "whole child" — developing students academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually — with Faith, Family, and Future as the framing pillars. The school combines religious formation with a standard elementary curriculum including STEM, foreign language, art, and 1:1 technology.
Community
At 76 students, St Mel is one of the smaller elementary programs in the city, and that intimacy shapes the community — parents describe a faculty that knows every family by name. The student body is predominantly White (59%) with meaningful Asian (14.5%) and Hispanic (15.8%) representation, and a diversity index of 0.72 reflects genuine mixing rather than a monolithic demographic. Parent reviews consistently highlight a caring faculty and a positive, welcoming environment under newer school leadership.
Neighborhood
The school sits in Murray Hill-Broadway Flushing, a working- to middle-class stretch of eastern Queens where median household income sits around $69,000 and about a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. It's a neighborhood built more around drive-through errands and school drop-offs than subway commuting, with single-family homes and small parish communities anchoring the rhythm of daily life. Families who live nearby will find a familiar, lived-in setting; those coming from farther afield should plan on a real commute.
The school is beyond walking distance of the subway — there are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk — so families should plan on driving or arranging car service.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Reviews rate 5/5; parents praise caring faculty, excellent curriculum, wonderful new administration, and positive school environment
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Murray Hill-Broadway Flushing.
- What grades does ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY serve?
- ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY?
- ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY public, charter, or private?
- ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY is a private school.
- What neighborhood is ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY in?
- ST MEL CATHOLIC ACADEMY is in Murray Hill-Broadway Flushing, Queens.