PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE

PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE is a well-populated K-5 school in MIDDLE VILLAGE, New York, part of NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #24. The school educates 1,224 students in grades K through 8. By comparison, New York's public schools average about 443 students each, so PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE sits 176% above that benchmark.

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #24 runs 57 schools in total, collectively educating 48,008 students. PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE records that 42% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder looks like 31% Hispanic, 25% Asian, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 26% White, putting the school's mix noticeably more White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 78 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.8:1 average. Around 53% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Queens County (around 77%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 55.7%; this one delivers 63.7%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Queens County indicate the typical household earns roughly $86,136 per year, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE is one of 392 public schools in Queens County (combined enrollment of about 268,205 students).

PS/IS 87 MIDDLE VILLAGE is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE ranks 7th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 66.4%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE has grew 6%, going from 1,156 students in 2018 to 1,224 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 56% to 42%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.0:1 in 2018 to 15.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.