The Waverly Academy of Empowered Learners

State proficiency numbers aren't reported for this school in the dataset, so it's hard to say how Waverly compares to the district's 61% ELA and 61% math averages. What we do see is unanimous teacher confidence in instruction quality, which usually tracks with serious classroom work even if it doesn't always show up in test scores. Parents who care about the numbers should ask directly about ELA and math outcomes here.

This is the school's calling card. Zero suspensions in 2022-23 and again in 2023-24 — versus a district average suspension rate of 0.44% — and teachers rate safety at 99%, instruction quality at 100%, and trust in their principal at 100%. Parent satisfaction sits at a healthy 93% (right at the district average), and parent-principal and parent-teacher trust both come in at 97%, suggesting families feel genuinely heard. The day-to-day feel is one of adults who like working together, which matters enormously for elementary-aged kids.

The school serves grades PK through 5 plus self-contained special education seats, drawing from a neighborhood where only about 12% of households have kids — modest family density for an elementary catchment area. The surrounding area is working-class, with a median household income around $52,650 and a poverty rate near 26%, which means a lot of families are navigating economic pressure while still showing up to a school where 75% of them completed the family survey — a meaningful signal of real engagement.

The Tompkinsville-Stapleton-Clifton-Fox Hills neighborhood is a working-class stretch of Staten Island's North Shore, where most households rent (homeownership is only 34%), the median home is worth about $628,000, and roughly 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The mix of modest incomes and steady property values gives the area a settled, lived-in feel. It's the kind of place where families know their block, but the train isn't exactly at the doorstep.

The two nearest stations are Stapleton and Clifton on the Staten Island Railway, both about a 15- to 17-minute walk from the school — a real hike for younger kids, especially on cold or rainy mornings.