The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in Social studies. The lowest is 21% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Randolph Holder School of Social Justice (the)
Randolph Holder School of Social Justice sits in Far Rockaway, at the far eastern edge of Queens, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a densely built neighborhood separated from the rest of the city by water and reachable mainly by subway, bridge, and causeway. The school serves a student body that is almost entirely from low-income households, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The neighborhood itself is in the midst of active redevelopment, with new affordable housing complexes and city-funded improvements anchoring an area that spent decades without significant investment.
Academic performance across the school's elementary grades shows weak results on state assessments. In mathematics, proficiency in grades three through five ranges from around one-quarter to two-fifths of students meeting state standards. English language arts proficiency is similarly low, hovering in the low to mid-40s range at best in fifth grade but falling to the mid-30s in grades three and four. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested, falls below one-quarter of students. These numbers place the school in the bottom quartile when compared against other schools in Queens County, a significant gap that a parent would want to discuss directly with school leadership. State data from an earlier era shows stronger results, though that comparison is too distant to draw current conclusions. Testing participation rates are generally in the high 70s to low 90s, so engagement with the assessment itself does not explain the performance gap.
The school is structured as a regular public school with no special charter or magnet designation. It serves a stable enrollment of about five hundred students spread across seven grade bands, with class sizes in the mid-70s to mid-80s for elementary grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with smaller representation from other racial and ethnic groups. The school's name reflects its identity around social justice themes, though the data available does not detail its specific pedagogical approach, curriculum emphases beyond the district's mandated reading and math programs, or the nature of its community partnerships and programming.
Under citywide mandates that took effect recently, the school, like all elementary schools in District 27, must now teach reading using a phonics-based, science-of-reading curriculum chosen by the district, a shift from the prior model in which individual schools selected their own materials. Similarly, math instruction must follow pre-approved conceptual-understanding-focused approaches. These are lasting changes to classroom instruction that shape the educational pathway for elementary students across the district.
The district itself has experienced enrollment decline and maintains excess classroom seats, a reality that shapes decisions about school utilization and co-locations but does not directly affect this school's current operations. Housing in the Far Rockaway zip code sits at moderate to mid-range values for the region, with rental rates in the mid-range. The neighborhood's retail and civic life centers on the downtown transit hub near the Far Rockaway subway terminus, and schools sit within walking distance of the Atlantic boardwalk and bay-side parks, giving the area a distinct physical character.
A parent considering this school would benefit from direct conversation with administration about the school's approach to the recent curriculum mandates, the specific support systems in place for students working below grade level, and what gains, if any, the school has made in the years most recently available.
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