Ps 221 North Hills School (the), Little Neck NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 221 North Hills School (the)

PS 221 North Hills School is a regular public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Little Neck, a low-density residential neighborhood at Queens' northeastern edge near the Nassau County border. The school enrolls a small-to-moderate student population, with about a third in pre-K and kindergarten and the remainder spread across the primary and upper elementary grades.

The school's student body is predominantly Asian, reflective of Little Neck's demographic shift over recent decades. Nearly half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating significant economic diversity within the community. Data on special education enrollment and English learner enrollment was not reported, so parents may want to look into those details directly with the school.

Academically, PS 221 shows solid proficiency across tested subjects. In mathematics, the school's proficiency rates hold consistently in the low-to-mid range across grades three, four, and five. English language arts performance is similarly stable, with slightly stronger results in fifth grade. Science proficiency in fifth grade falls somewhat below the math and ELA marks. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Queens County's elementary schools, indicating stronger performance than the typical district school in the county. Test participation rates are high across grades and subjects, ranging from the low to high nineties.

Little Neck itself is a car-dependent residential community with tree-lined streets and primarily single-family homes. Northern Boulevard serves as the main commercial artery with family-owned restaurants and shops. The neighborhood has good public transit via the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station, which connects to Penn Station, and several bus lines. Alley Pond Park, a major green space nearby, offers trails and recreation. Housing values in the area are above state and national benchmarks, reflecting the neighborhood's suburban appeal and proximity to employment centers like Long Island Jewish Medical Center just across the Nassau County line.

The district serving PS 221 has undergone significant curriculum changes in recent years. All elementary schools, including this one, now use standardized, phonics-based reading curricula under the citywide "NYC Reads" mandate, replacing the previous principal-choice approach. Gifted-and-talented programs were expanded and redesigned to use teacher recommendation and lottery admission starting in kindergarten and third grade. Capacity expansions across the district are underway to relieve overcrowding in northeast Queens, addressing a long-standing enrollment pressure. Parents considering this school should understand that it operates within these newer district-wide frameworks rather than having independent curriculum autonomy.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 381%

School 81% · District 83% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 484%

School 84% · District 82% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 77% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 76% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 77% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 66% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 597%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #26, 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-income85%Higher-income83%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income73%Higher-income77%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income91%Higher-income81%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income78%Higher-income83%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income94%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income83%Higher-income78%4 pp gap