Ps 1 Alfred E Smith, New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 1 Alfred E Smith

PS 1 Alfred E Smith is a small elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, in a densely mixed-use neighborhood where ground-floor retail sits below residential and office space, with high pedestrian traffic and frequent building height variation. The school draws from the surrounding area, which offers extensive public transit and parks as anchor amenities in a city experiencing sustained residential growth.

The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Asian, with a substantial share of Black students as well, and a very high concentration of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic makeup of lower Manhattan. Students span from pre-K through fifth grade, with enrollment spread across those grades in a school of modest size for a New York City public elementary campus.

On state math assessments, students show proficiency rates in the low-to-mid range. Third graders achieved proficiency slightly above half; fourth graders fell below that mark; fifth graders returned to just above half. English language arts performance is softer across the board, with third through fifth grade proficiency rates ranging from the low-to-mid forties, suggesting that reading and writing are areas where many students are not yet meeting grade-level standards. Fifth grade science proficiency was notably low, with one-third of students proficient. These results place the school above the midpoint of overall proficiency when pooled across tested subjects and grades relative to districts across New York County, though that aggregate sits on a field where performance varies widely. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about reading instruction and science curriculum, since those appear to be softer points, and about what additional support or intervention is available for students not yet proficient.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet program. It sits within New York City Geographic District 2, which also serves other neighborhoods in lower and central Manhattan. No detailed data on staffing, special education services, English learner supports, chronic absenteeism, or discipline was available in the records reviewed.

The immediate neighborhood context is a high-density mixed-use area. The school is embedded within the block itself rather than sited on a suburban-style campus. Families in the area rely heavily on the subway and bus system, which carry millions of riders daily across the five boroughs. Housing in lower Manhattan is expensive and trending upward; median rents reflect the market cost of living in a core urban location. Parents considering this school should understand that it serves a neighborhood with significant economic constraints for families, as reflected in the high free-or-reduced-lunch rate, and that reading and math proficiency rates indicate many students are working below grade level, which may mean the school or the district relies on additional pull-out services, small-group instruction, or other strategies to help students catch up. The school's future remains tied to citywide district policies, including recent changes to Gifted & Talented admissions that now use a lottery system for kindergarten enrollment, which affects how families enter the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 81% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 79% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 78% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 80% · ▼ 38 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 78% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 81% · ▼ 39 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 67% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 586%

School 86% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 2, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income80%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income100%63 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income80%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income100%64 pp gap