Ps 105 Bay School (the), Far Rockaway NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 105 Bay School (the)

PS 105 The Bay School is a public elementary and middle school serving the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, a coastal community at the peninsula's edge with a strong residential character, a downtown transit hub, and substantial ongoing affordable housing development. The school spans pre-K through eighth grade with a student body that is predominantly Black and Hispanic, and nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academic performance across math, English language arts, and the sciences tested is low. In mathematics, proficiency drops sharply as students progress through grades: third grade shows modest proficiency rates, but by grades five through eight proficiency falls steeply, with seventh grade registering particularly weak results. English language arts shows a similar pattern across grades, with most grades hovering in the low to mid-range. Science proficiency in the tested grades (five and eight) runs in the low teens. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other public schools within Queens County. A parent should look into these results with the school directly, including what support systems are in place for students who are not yet proficient and what progress, if any, has been made from prior years.

The school sits within New York City Geographic District 27, which operates under two significant curriculum mandates that affect how reading and mathematics are taught. All elementary schools in the district use a phonics-based, science-of-reading curriculum chosen centrally rather than by individual school principals, and all middle schools select from a pre-approved list of mathematics curricula. These are lasting structural changes to classroom instruction. The district itself has experienced modest enrollment decline and has considerable excess classroom seats, which shapes decisions about school utilization and building assignments but does not directly define the quality of a particular school's program.

The neighborhood has experienced decades of disinvestment followed by sustained redevelopment. Affordable housing projects now anchor both downtown near the subway terminus and along the waterfront, drawing new families to the area. The beach and boardwalk, downtown library, and subway station (the A train terminus) are civic anchors within walking distance. The school's location on Beach 51st Street places it several blocks from the oceanfront.

The enrollment is small to moderate for its grade span, with a balance of classes across all grades. The vast majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the neighborhood's economic profile. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the composition and availability of those services.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 63% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 60% · ▼ 34 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 54% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 46% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 57% · ▼ 50 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 42% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 56% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 55% · ▼ 31 pts below district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 56% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 49% · ▼ 30 pts below district

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

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 52% · ▼ 32 pts below district

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 53% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 39% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 30% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 568%

School 68% · district not reported

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

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 59 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below 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 7Lower-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income7%Higher-income17%10 pp gap