David N Dinkins School, Jamaica NY

Original Research by School Decision on David N Dinkins School

David N Dinkins School is a pre-K through fifth-grade school serving a neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, where the school sits amid dense residential blocks south and east of the commercial downtown. The enrollment is modest for an urban school and heavily economically disadvantaged, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is multiracial, with roughly equal representation among Black, Asian, and Hispanic students, alongside a smaller Caribbean and indigenous population.

In math, the school's proficiency rates decline across the grade span. Third graders show solid proficiency, fourth graders hold steady at roughly the same level, and fifth graders fall noticeably lower. English language arts follows a similar downward slope from third to fifth grade, with third grade showing below-fifty proficiency and fifth grade near that mark. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably weak. Across tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Queens County, a meaningful strength in a district serving substantial economic hardship.

This profile suggests a school where early-grade literacy and numeracy are being addressed with some success, though the widening gap by fifth grade may warrant a parent's closer look. The NYC Reads curriculum mandate now in place across all District 28 elementary schools means reading instruction follows one of three city-approved programs grounded in the science of reading, a lasting shift from the school's prior approach. Third-grade entry to the district's Gifted & Talented program is also now available, drawing from universal screening of second-grade grades.

Jamaica itself is undergoing significant residential growth centered on its major transit hub. The neighborhood is densely populated with active street life along commercial corridors, and the school's location puts families within reach of the Long Island Rail Road, subway, bus transit, and growing new residential towers. The median home value in the zip code is appreciably higher than the state benchmark, reflecting both the transit access and the ongoing development surge. Rents are also substantial for the area.

The school operates as a regular public elementary school within the geographic district, without charter or magnet designation. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, English learner population, and staffing details were not available, so a parent may want to request those specifics directly from the school to understand the full school environment and support infrastructure.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 72% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 68% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 63% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 66% · ▼ 14 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 63% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 66% · ▼ 11 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 48% · ▼ 28 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 570%

School 70% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #28, 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 4Lower-income70%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income67%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income73%Higher-income50%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income70%13 pp gap