Students in Queens may have a leg up when it comes to learning.
According to a progress report by the Department of Education (DOE), public schools in Queens were ranked the best in the city.
Queens had the highest percentage of schools in New York that received an “A” in the 2011 progress reports released by the DOE. The best performing school district in the city was also in Queens, the report found.
Out of the 253 schools in Queens serving grades K-8, 34 percent got an “A.” That is higher than all the other boroughs and closest to Manhattan, which had 30 percent of their K-8 schools get an “A.” District 26, which serves northeast Queens, was the best performing district academically, according to the report.
Still, not all schools in Queens were winners.
P.S. 215 in Far Rockaway, P.S. 80 in Jamaica and P.S. 182, also in Jamaica, were among the 13 schools in the borough that received grades of “C”s, “D”s, or “F”s.
For the schools that did fare well however, there was a lot to celebrate.
Phyllis Leinwand is the principal at P.S. 66 in Richmond Hill, one of the highest performing public schools in Queens, according to the report. Leinwand attributes the school’s success to their connections with parents, individualized instruction and working with students in groups.
“Small is the key,” said Leinwand, who has led the school for 11 years and was happy with the good news. “I am very proud of the results. They reflect the hard work of teachers, parents, children and the school community.”
The school grades only include elementary and middle public schools. Public high schools get their separate progress reports at the end of October, according to a spokesman for the DOE.
Graphic:
Top Schools Grades
P.S. 66 in Richmond Hill…………………..A
P.S. 254 in Richmond Hill……………….A
Worst Schools:
P.S. 215 in Far Rockaway…………………F
P.S. 80 in Jamaica………………………………F
