The Jermaine L. Green STEM Institute of Queens

Math is the headline. At 66.1%, the school sits roughly three points above the District 28 average of 62.8%, and Grade 3 students are hitting 76.9% proficiency — well above the district. ELA at 51.7% trails the district's 62.8%, so reading remains the work to do. The trajectory is the more interesting story: math proficiency has climbed from 14.7% in 2016 to 66.1% in 2025, with a particularly sharp jump from 54.4% to 66.1% in the past year. ELA has more than doubled over the same window, despite a clear pandemic-era dip in 2022 that the school has since recovered from.

The day-to-day feel is family-warm but logistically bumpy. Parent satisfaction (93%), parent-teacher trust (96%), and strong relationships (100%) are all standout numbers — families clearly feel connected, with 122 family survey responses backing that up. The chronic absenteeism rate of 63.5% is the headline concern, though, and overall attendance at 90.1% sits just below the district's 91.4%. Teacher-reported safety at 86% is meaningfully below the district's 93.2% — worth asking about on a tour. On the upside, zero suspensions in three straight years signals a restorative rather than punitive culture. Teacher responses were thin (only 20), so read those climate signals with some humility.

This is overwhelmingly a Black student body — 80% — with another 12% Hispanic and small shares of multiracial, Asian, Native American, and white students. The economic need index of 64.4 means roughly two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and 15% have IEPs. The surrounding neighborhood is working- to middle-class, with a median household income around $74,500 and a relatively modest 11.3% poverty rate — a slightly unusual mismatch where the surrounding community is more economically stable than the student body it serves, suggesting strong family investment even amid tighter resources.

Springfield Gardens (North)–Rochdale Village is a low-density residential pocket of southeastern Queens, with single-family homes making up most of the housing stock and a homeownership rate just under 40%. Median household income sits in the mid-$70Ks and only about a fifth of households have kids at home, so the area reads more as established commuters and long-time homeowners than as a young-family enclave. About a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree, which fits the working-class character of the community.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families get here by bus, car, or school bus — this is car-dependent Queens.