PS 81

Located at 140 TACOMA AVE, in BUFFALO, New York, PS 81 is a sizable elementary school that caters to 739 students (grades pre-K through 8), overseen by BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. That puts it 67% above the typical public school in New York, which averages around 443 students.

BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT comprises 61 schools with combined enrollment of 29,425 students; PS 81 is among them.

In terms of who attends, PS 81 logs that the most-represented group is Black (41%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest consists of 17% Hispanic, 17% White, 14% Asian, 11% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 13% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, PS 81 records 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.0:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 85% of students at PS 81 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Erie County's rate of about 51%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), PS 81 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.6%; this one delivers 29.8%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Erie County indicate the typical household earns roughly $72,839 per year, roughly 38% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. Across Erie County's 226 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,519 students), PS 81 is one campus in the mix.

TAPESTRY CHARTER SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts PS 81 at 5th of 8; the average score across the group is 39.1%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 31%: 1,070 students in 2018 compared to 739 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share expanded from 6% to 14%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.9:1 in 2018 to 13.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the PS 81 community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.