Original Research by School Decision on Ps 222-fire Fighter Christopher a Santora School
PS 222, named for firefighter Christopher A. Santora, sits on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in central Queens that the Historic Districts Council identifies as the first and largest garden-apartment community in the United States. The school serves pre-kindergarten through second grade, so families are looking at the earliest years of a child's formal education, not a building where kids will stay through middle school.
The school is a small early-childhood program. Most of its students are Hispanic, with Asian and white students each making up a smaller but comparable share and a modest multiracial population. A substantial majority of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this squarely in a working- and lower-income community. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in what was provided, which is worth asking the school about directly, given that Jackson Heights is one of the most linguistically diverse neighborhoods in the country, with dozens of languages spoken and a large share of residents who are foreign-born.
Because the school only serves pre-K through second grade, state testing results do not apply here. New York State begins testing in third grade, so the absence of proficiency data is a function of the grade band, not a gap in reporting. Similarly, graduation rates and chronic absenteeism comparisons relative to other districts in Queens County are not applicable at this level. Parents cannot use test scores to gauge academic outcomes directly, and the comparison fact-set for Queens County districts offers no relevant metrics for this school.
What is happening at the district level is worth knowing. Under NYC Reads, launched in the 2023-24 school year and publicly reported by NYC Public Schools, District 30 elementary schools now teach reading using one of three city-approved, phonics-based curricula. This replaced a model where principals chose their own materials, and it affects every early-elementary classroom in the district, including PS 222. For families with strong views about early literacy instruction, it is worth asking the school which of the three approved curricula they use and how it is being implemented. The city also overhauled its Gifted and Talented admissions process, replacing a standardized entrance test with a grades-and-lottery model and expanding G&T programs to every district. That change affects how families in District 30 eventually access accelerated elementary programs.
The neighborhood surrounding the school is dense, walkable, and commercially active. The 37th Avenue corridor, where the school sits, is part of the commercial spine that publicly reported sources describe as running from the transit hub at 74th Street east toward 82nd Street, lined with South Asian, Latin American, and other immigrant-owned businesses. Travers Park on 34th Avenue, the neighborhood's main park, and the Paseo Park open street are both nearby. The 7, E, F, M, and R trains all connect through the 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue hub, making the area among the most transit-accessible in Queens.
Housing in the zip code has seen values slip modestly year over year while rents have edged up slightly, both per recent data. Home values here sit below the New York State median and are also below the national median, which is notable for a New York City neighborhood. The area is publicly reported as growing less affordable for middle-income households even as it remains comparatively accessible within the city. Jackson Heights is also adding housing density, with new apartment and mixed-use buildings going up, and citywide zoning changes under the City of Yes initiative are expected to shape how much more gets built across the five boroughs in the years ahead.
For a family with a young child entering pre-K or kindergarten, PS 222 offers a neighborhood public school in one of Queens' most linguistically and culturally layered communities. Program-level details, staffing information, and attendance data were not available in what was provided, so a school visit and a conversation with the principal would fill in what the data leaves open.
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