At a Glance
A small Hamilton Heights elementary where families rave about trust, but chronic absenteeism is the story underneath the scores
Best suited for
Families who value a small, tight-knit school with strong parent-teacher relationships and easy subway access, and who are prepared to prioritize daily attendance as a household commitment
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Among the strongest parent-teacher and parent-principal trust scores in the district, both near 100%
- A roughly fivefold increase in ELA proficiency and a sixfold jump in math since 2017
- Zero suspensions for the 2023-24 school year
- Three subway lines within a five-minute walk make the commute unusually easy for an uptown school
- Small enrollment of 218 students gives the school an intimate, community feel
Things to consider
- 62% chronic absenteeism — this is the single biggest factor for prospective families to investigate, since missing school erodes even strong instruction
- Grade 4 math proficiency drops to 36.8%, a notable dip from Grade 3's 70.7% — worth asking what's happening in that transition
- ELA proficiency at 41.5% trails the district average of 47%
- Teacher survey responses were only 22, which is a small sample and may not fully represent the staff voice
- 21% of students have IEPs, meaning strong special education staffing matters here more than at average schools
Based on 2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 6
Within District 6, William Lynch sits in the middle of the pack — ahead of larger schools like Neighborhood Charter School of Harlem (68/100) and a few peer campuses, but trailing the high-performing charter options like Zeta Inwood (93/100) and Success Academy Washington Heights (90/100). For a traditional public school, the academic trajectory and family satisfaction are genuine positives.
Academics
Williams Lynch has pulled off one of the more striking academic turnarounds in the district. In 2017, just 8.2% of students were proficient in ELA and 8.9% in math — by 2024, those numbers had jumped to 43.8% and 53.1%. This year's ELA at 41.5% sits below the district average of 47%, but math at 53.1% is slightly above the district's 52.1%. The overall score of 1.89/4 lands just under the district average of 1.98. The grade-level breakdown tells its own story: Grade 3 students perform strongly (70.7% math proficiency), but Grade 4 math drops to 36.8%, suggesting a dip in performance after the early elementary years that families should ask about on a tour.
Culture
This is a school where adults clearly trust each other — and that's rare. Parent-teacher trust is 100%, parent-principal trust is 99%, and strong family-school relationships sit at 96%. Teacher collegial trust (92%) and teacher-principal trust (89%) are also healthy, though teacher-reported instruction quality (86%) runs a bit below the district average of 90.4%. Teacher-reported safety is solid at 94%. Discipline is essentially a non-issue: zero suspensions in 2023-24, after one the prior year. The catch is attendance — the 89.1% rate is below the district's 91.1%, and a 62% chronic absenteeism rate means nearly two-thirds of students miss enough school to be flagged. That gap between how families feel about the school and how often kids actually show up is worth understanding.
Community
The student body is genuinely mixed: roughly half Hispanic (49%), with White (23%), Black (22%), Multi-Racial (4%), and Asian (3%) making up the rest. With a 67.8 economic need index and 21% of students with IEPs, this is a school serving a wide range of needs. The diversity index of 69% reflects that mix.
Neighborhood
Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill is a historically Black and Latino neighborhood in upper Manhattan where the median household income is $65,619 and about 22.7% of residents live below the poverty line. Homeownership is low at 14.3%, which tracks with the renter-heavy character of the area. About 13.3% of neighborhood households have children, and 40.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Three subway stations are within a five-minute walk: the 1 train at 145 St (about 3 minutes), and the B/D and A/C trains at 145 St (each about 5 minutes). That gives families access to six lines total.
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) · 209 families responded (68% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
The William Lynch School also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
The William Lynch School doesn't have an attendance zone of its own, so living nearby doesn't guarantee a seat here. Families apply on MySchools, and seats go to the school's priority groups first, then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank this school with your zoned school, if you have one, and any others you'd take — in true preference order.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. We don't have The William Lynch School'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.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is The William Lynch School a good school?
- On Motley, The William Lynch School earns an overall rating of 47/100 — 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 in line with the District 6 average.
- What grades does The William Lynch School serve?
- The William Lynch School serves grades Pre-K to 7.
- Is The William Lynch School public, charter, or private?
- The William Lynch School is a public school in NYC Community School District 6.
- What neighborhood is The William Lynch School in?
- The William Lynch School is in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, Manhattan.