Ps 47 Chris Galas, Broad Channel NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 47 Chris Galas

PS 47 Chris Galas is a small, PreK through 8 school of about that size located in Broad Channel, Queens, a geographically isolated maritime village on the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay. The school is embedded in its neighborhood—it sits on Power Road within the residential fabric rather than on a separate campus—and serves a community of low-rise, mostly owner-occupied homes connected to the rest of Queens by road and subway bridges.

The school's enrollment is stable and leans toward white, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Special populations data, such as counts of students with IEPs or English learners, were not available. Enrollment is distributed across the grade bands, with slightly smaller cohorts at eighth grade.

Math proficiency shows uneven performance across grades. Third grade sits around the midline, while fourth and fifth grades cluster in the low-to-mid range. Sixth grade edges higher. Seventh grade stands notably above the rest of the school, with very strong proficiency. Eighth grade has no state test data available, which the school's small cohort size in that grade may explain. In English language arts, proficiency is more mixed. Third through fifth grades land in the low-to-mid range, sixth grade drops to about half, and seventh grade recovers to above the midline. Eighth grade falls back to below-midline levels. Science testing occurred only in fifth grade, where proficiency was near half.

When the school's overall proficiency is indexed across tested subjects and grades, it sits above the midpoint relative to other Queens County schools, a meaningful positioning given the school's small scale and the rural character of its setting.

The school is part of New York City Geographic District 27, which covers multiple neighborhoods in Queens and has undergone two significant, lasting curriculum changes that apply to this school. All elementary grades now use one of three pre-approved, phonics-based reading curricula as part of the citywide NYC Reads mandate, replacing the prior model in which principals selected their own materials. Middle grades are now required to choose from a pre-approved list of mathematics curricula under the NYC Solves initiative, shifting away from schools creating their own math approaches. These are durable changes to instruction that a family considering the school would encounter.

District 27 has experienced substantial enrollment decline over recent years and operates with excess capacity, including multiple under-utilized buildings. This capacity situation shapes district decisions about school siting and co-locations, so families should be aware that enrollment dynamics may affect the school's footprint or enrollment zone over time.

Broad Channel itself is a close-knit, low-density community oriented around a single main artery, Cross Bay Boulevard, with commercial and civic life minimal but anchored by the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, the Queens Library branch, and transit via the A train and local buses. The neighborhood is highly vulnerable to flooding and has invested heavily in resilience since Hurricane Sandy, with elevated homes and new infrastructure for storm protection. Residents typically commute off-island for major shopping and errands, and ownership patterns are predominantly single-family. Growth in the area has centered on resilience and flood protection rather than new housing development.

The school's proficiency results warrant a closer look, particularly the variation between grades and the notably stronger performance in seventh-grade math. A parent may want to reach out to the school directly to understand curriculum sequencing, which students advance through different pathways, and whether the seventh-grade strength reflects cohort composition, teaching approach, or curricular emphasis.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	24	71.0%
Science	24	33.0%

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 63% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 60% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 54% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 46% · ▲ 29 pts above district

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

Grade 795%

School 95% · District 57% · ▲ 38 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 42% · ▼ 42 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 56% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 55% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 56% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 49% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 52% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 53% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 39% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 30% · ▼ 30 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · district not reported

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

Grade 879%

School 79% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #27, 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-income60%Higher-income73%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income67%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income93%53 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income33%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income89%Higher-income75%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income75%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income82%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income70%Higher-income83%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income100%Higher-income92%8 pp gap