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Which teacher or staff member at PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
495
Elementary
DISTRICT 389 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9·NCES 360008602238
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
450 ST PAUL'S PL, BRONX, NY 10456 · (718) 681-6227 · Bronx County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL495 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.2:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
483 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 58%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NYS Assessments 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4)English Language Arts
28.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +5.0pp since 2023
Math
27.0%
NY avg 57.4% . +5.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New York schools, those numbers are about 58 and 57. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Source: NYS Assessments. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
23.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.1%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 24% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% typical for New York schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New York's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
495
-142 (-22%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 12.7:1
% White
1%
was 1%
% Hispanic
56%
was 49%
% Black
41%
was 50%
% Asian
1%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Set in BRONX, New York, PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is a reasonably sized elementary campus, run under NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9. It instructs 495 students across grades pre-K through 5.
Across the 70 schools in NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9 (23,786 students total), PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN accounts for its share of the district's footprint.
In terms of who attends, PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN records that 56% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. The remainder consists of 41% Black. Compared to Bronx County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.
On the income-and-resources front, The school employs 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.2:1. The state averages about 12.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 98% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.
After controlling for student poverty, PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 39.1%, the actual is 23.5%, a residual of -15.6 points.
In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Bronx County indicate the typical household earns roughly $48,676 per year, about 22% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 23%. Across Bronx County's 472 public schools (combined enrollment of about 202,028 students), PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is one campus in the mix.
Nearest neighbor: SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BRONX 2, around 0.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ranks 9th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 56.6%.
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN operates from a high-density location.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN has contracted 22%, going from 637 students in 2018 to 495 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 50% to 41%.
Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Bronx County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,404,779
Census ACS
Median income
$48,676
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
472
202,028 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9
- PS/IS 218 RAFAEL HERNANDEZ DUAL LANGUAGE MAGNET SCHOOLElementary · 807 students
- PS 70 MAX SCHOENFELDElementary · 729 students
- BRONX SCHOOL FOR LAW GOVERNMENT AND JUSTICEHigh · 683 students
- COMPREHENSIVE MODEL SCHOOL PROJECT MS 327High · 670 students
- PS 53 BASHEER QUISIMElementary · 600 students
- PS 204 MORRIS HEIGHTSElementary · 576 students
Other schools in BRONX
- BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE (THE)High · 2,953 students
- KIPP BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL IIICombined · 2,390 students
- HARRY S TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,650 students
- ATMOSPHERE ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLHigh · 1,481 students
- PS 83 DONALD HERTZElementary · 1,451 students
- RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY (MS/HS 141)High · 1,383 students
Nearby schools
- SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BRONX 20.0 mi · 904
- KAPPA0.2 mi · 143
- IS 219 NEW VENTURE SCHOOL0.2 mi · 248
- FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY III SECONDARY SCHOOL0.2 mi · 219
- BRONX CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS0.2 mi · 382
- EXIMIUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY: A COLLEGE BOARD SCHOOL0.2 mi · 365
Frequently asked questions
About PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLINWhat is the total enrollment at PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN?
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN enrolls approximately 495 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN serve?
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN?
The student-to-teacher ratio at PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is approximately 12.2:1 (41 FTE teachers).
How diverse is PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN?
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN reports a student body of 1% White, 56% Hispanic, 41% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN public or private?
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is a public K-12 school, overseen by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.