Ps 140 Nathan Straus, New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 140 Nathan Straus

PS 140 Nathan Straus is a pre-K through eighth grade public school on the Lower East Side serving a concentrated student population in one of New York City's oldest and most densely settled neighborhoods. The school sits within a vibrant, mixed-use urban environment where residential and commercial uses are interwoven, with heavy pedestrian traffic, strong transit access via subway and bus, and deep integration into neighborhood block life rather than any campus-style separation. The school's immediate context is walkable and anchored by parks, libraries, and restaurants serving residents and visitors. This is a fundamentally urban school placement, not a suburban or semi-rural one.

The student body reflects the neighborhood's composition. Nearly all of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, marking a school serving a very low-income community. The population is predominantly Hispanic, with meaningful though smaller Black, Asian, and white presence. State testing data reveals that the school is substantially under-performing across all tested subjects and grade levels. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from single digits in fourth grade to about half the student body in eighth grade, with lower and middle grades generally in the single digits to low thirties. English language arts results track similarly, with fourth grade again at single-digit proficiency and fifth through eighth grades ranging from upper twenties to low thirties. Science proficiency is particularly weak, with fifth grade at less than four percent and eighth grade at just over ten percent. These are not competitive academic outcomes by city standards, and a parent considering the school would do well to understand from the school directly what instructional shifts, supports, or partnerships are underway to address this pattern.

The school includes both early childhood (pre-K and kindergarten) and elementary grades alongside a full middle school (six through eight), so students can progress through the whole span without transition, a structural advantage for continuity and long-term relationships with staff. Enrollment is stable and modest for the grade band, spanning from small early childhood cohorts through larger sixth and eighth grade groups. Data on special education enrollment and English learner populations was not available, which a prospective family would want to ask about directly, particularly given that the neighborhood has longstanding immigration patterns and likely houses students with varying English proficiency.

The Lower East Side and East Village fall within District 1, which has eliminated zoned elementary and middle schools entirely and implemented a Diversity in Admissions policy that gives priority to students from low-income families, English language learners, those in temporary housing, and children in the child welfare system. This means no family in this geographic area has an automatic seat at any elementary or middle school; instead, families must apply through a choice process in which socioeconomic integration criteria play a formal role. PS 140 is part of that choice system. The district is also operating under New York State's 2022 class-size mandate, which requires phased reductions in class caps across several years, a factor that will reshape staffing and building capacity as it rolls out. These are structural features of how schools in this part of the city operate that parents need to grasp early.

Housing in the 10002 zip code (which includes the Lower East Side) remains expensive by national standards but considerably less so than many other Manhattan neighborhoods, with strong year-over-year rent growth suggesting ongoing demand. The area has historically housed immigrants, working families, and artists, and that texture persists alongside gentrification and new development. It is accessible by multiple transit lines, walkable, and close to cultural institutions, parks, and small businesses.

A parent or family considering PS 140 should expect to engage with the school directly on its instructional approach to the proficiency gaps evident in the data, the composition of support services and how they reach students, how the school works with families on the choice process and integration priorities, and what the school believes are its strengths in serving this particular student body. The testing data alone raises questions that warrant that conversation.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

1 course reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	7	100.0%

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 68% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 44%

School 4% · District 67% · ▼ 63 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 58% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 56% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 70% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 53% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 67% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 45%

School 5% · District 68% · ▼ 63 pts below district

▼ 47 pts below state median · ▼ 58 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 66% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 57% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 66% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 63% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 49% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 35% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 544%

School 44% · district not reported

▼ 48 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 1, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.