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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
644
Elementary
DISTRICT 529 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31·NCES 360010303394
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)
250 KRAMER AVE, STATEN ISLAND, NY 10309 · (718) 605-1189 · Richmond County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL644 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
254 students
DISTRICT 69% · 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
78.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +3.0pp since 2023
Math
76.0%
NY avg 57.4% . -1.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 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
70.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.5%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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
644
+40 (+7%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 12.6:1
% White
66%
was 78%
% Hispanic
14%
was 15%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
17%
was 5%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)
Located at 250 KRAMER AVE, in STATEN ISLAND, New York, PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) is a mid-sized elementary school that instructs 644 students (grades pre-K through 5), one of the schools within NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31. Enrollment runs roughly 45% above the state mean of about 443.
NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31 comprises 74 schools with combined enrollment of 56,577 students; PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) is among them.
For racial and ethnic makeup, PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) reports that 66% of the student body identifies as White; the rest reads as 17% Asian, 14% Hispanic.
Looking at school resources, PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) reports 42 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.8:1, putting PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 39% of students at PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is lower than Richmond County's rate of about 67%.
With demographic context factored in, PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 60.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 70.8%.
In the area at large, the surrounding county (Richmond County) records that median household earnings sit near $98,333, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. In all, Richmond County runs 88 public schools (combined enrollment of about 62,254 students), of which PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) is one.
The closest other public school is KATHLEEN GRIMM SCHOOL FOR LEADERSHIP, roughly 0.3 miles away. 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 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 73.9%.
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) operates from a downtown location.
Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 7%: 604 students in 2018 compared to 644 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 78% to 66% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 today.
On the community side, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Richmond County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
494,956
Census ACS
Median income
$98,333
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
88
62,254 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31
- TOTTENVILLE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,750 students
- NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,055 students
- SUSAN E WAGNER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,743 students
- CURTIS HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,439 students
- PORT RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,696 students
- IS 72 ROCCO LAURIEMiddle · 1,532 students
Other schools in STATEN ISLAND
- TOTTENVILLE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,750 students
- NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,055 students
- SUSAN E WAGNER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,743 students
- CURTIS HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,439 students
- PORT RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,696 students
- IS 72 ROCCO LAURIEMiddle · 1,532 students
Nearby schools
- KATHLEEN GRIMM SCHOOL FOR LEADERSHIP0.3 mi · 452
- IS 75 FRANK D PAULO0.9 mi · 1,514
- PS 4 MAURICE WOLLIN1.2 mi · 862
- PS 3 MARGARET GIOIOSA SCHOOL (THE)1.5 mi · 668
- TOTTENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL1.5 mi · 3,750
- PS 5 HUGUENOT1.6 mi · 317
Frequently asked questions
About PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)How large is PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)?
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) enrolls approximately 644 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) serve?
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) have?
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.3:1.
What is the student diversity at PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)?
Student demographics at PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) are roughly 66% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Black, 17% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) in?
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE) is part of NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.