4 Midtown K-8 Public Schools Ranked Among Best In NY: U.S. News

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Several elementary and middle schools in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen were named among the best in New York, according to a first-of-its-kind ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States — over 1,220 of which are a part of the New York City Public School system.

Four elementary and middle schools in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen appeared in the top 50 ranking of the city's best public K-8 schools, and all were ranked among the state's 100 best schools.

P.S. 59 Beekman Hill International School on East 56th Street was the highest-ranking of any Midtown school, placing 38th in the state on the elementary schools list.

Here are the Midtown schools that cracked the top 150 statewide.

Midtown elementary schools:

• P.S. 59 Beekman Hill International School (233 East 56th St.): No. 23 in NYC and No. 38 in New York State
• The River School/P.S. 281 (425 East 35th St.): No. 32 in NYC and No. 54 in New York State
• P.S. 212 Midtown West (323 West 48th St.): No. 68 in NYC and No. 137 in New York State

Midtown middle schools:

• Professional Performing Arts High School (328 West 48th St.): No. 41 in NYC and No. 68 in New York State

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

New York had the third-most elementary schools in the new ranking, trailing only Texas and California. Among middle schools, it came in fourth place, behind Illinois, Texas and California.

Find the complete list of 2021's Best K-8 Schools here.

Related coverage: NYC's Top K-8 Schools Are Best In State, US News Finds