Ps 155 William Paca, New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 155 William Paca

PS 155 William Paca is a small elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade in East Harlem, located on East 117th Street. The school enrolls roughly a small-to-mid-sized cohort for a New York City elementary and draws from a highly economically disadvantaged neighborhood: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with smaller populations of Native American/Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and White students.

The school's academic results show considerable challenge. State testing data from the most recent year reveals proficiency rates that fall well below what one would expect for grade level. In third-grade math, fewer than one in six students performed at proficient or above, and fifth-grade science showed similarly low proficiency, with fewer than one in five students meeting the bar. English language arts proficiency was higher but still modest: third-grade ELA was in the low-to-mid range, and fifth-grade ELA was closer to one in four students. Fourth-grade math performance was relatively the strongest of the tested grades, though still under one in three. Across all subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared against the other districts serving New York County.

One note on the data: special population counts such as English learners and students with IEPs were not available in the records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the proportion of students receiving special education or language support services.

The school is a regular public school without magnet or charter designation, embedded within the dense urban fabric of East Harlem as schools in New York City typically are: woven into the neighborhood block rather than set apart on a campus. The area itself is mixed-use, with ground-floor retail and restaurants alongside residential and office buildings, and the neighborhood is highly walkable with extensive public transit access.

East Harlem is in a period of residential growth and change. The Bronx, which borders the area, has been a focal point of new housing development in recent years, and the city's 2024 zoning reforms (City of Yes) are designed to enable more infill housing across neighborhoods. Housing values in the area have remained relatively stable, though rental costs have risen modestly. The broader economic context includes growth in tech and professional services sectors across the city, though the immediate East Harlem neighborhood remains economically disadvantaged relative to other parts of Manhattan.

At the district level, District 4 has undergone notable curriculum changes. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, all elementary schools in the district were required to adopt one of three pre-approved, phonics-based reading curricula under the NYC Reads mandate, replacing the prior "balanced literacy" approach. This is a direct change to how children in this school learn to read. Middle school families in District 4 will see standardized math curriculum implementation in the 2026-27 school year under a separate initiative. Additionally, New York City opened middle school admissions citywide, meaning families now have the option to apply to any public middle school rather than being limited largely to in-district choices.

A parent considering this school should recognize that the school serves a high-need population in a high-poverty neighborhood and that recent state testing indicates students are significantly below state proficiency benchmarks across math, ELA, and science. The school's specific approach to addressing these gaps, what interventions are in place, and how it is performing relative to its prior-year baselines would be worth exploring directly with the school, as trend data over time was not available in the records reviewed.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 46% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 49% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 44% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 44% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 52% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 52% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 37% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 561%

School 61% · district not reported

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 4, 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 6Lower-income56%Higher-income11%45 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income35%22 pp gap