PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST

PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST is a reasonably sized K-5 school in LONG ISLAND CITY, New York, one of the schools within NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #30. The school works with 410 students in grades pre-K through 5.

PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST is one of 53 schools operated by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #30, a district that educates 35,337 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 52%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school records 20% Black, 14% White, 12% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 28% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST shows 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 9.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 12.8:1 average. An estimated 90% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Queens County (around 77%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 37.9%.

In the broader community, census data for Queens County shows median household earnings sit near $86,136, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST is one of 392 public schools in Queens County (combined enrollment of about 268,205 students).

YOUNG WOMENS LEADERSHIP SCHOOL - ASTORIA is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST ranks 7th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 60.4%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Trend over the last 7 years. PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST's enrollment has contracted 18% since 2018, when it stood at 498 (now 410). Black enrollment moved from 28% to 20% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 12.4:1 in 2018 to 9.2:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.