New Design Middle School

250 West 127 Street, Manhattan, NY 10027 · Manhattan · Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

DBN: 05M514

Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

Unzoned

SchoolDigger: 1432 (of 1500)

Niche: C

Academic quality

ELA = English Language Arts (reading and writing). Math and Science are self-explanatory.
NY State tests ELA and Math every year in grades 3-8, and Science once, in grade 8 -- a school's numbers below only reflect whichever of those grades it actually serves (no social studies/history state test exists at this level).
"Avg. rating" is DOE's average student score on a 1.0-4.5 scale (higher is better) -- shown here as "value / 4.5" alongside the citywide average for the same metric as a benchmark for what's typical.

Attendance: 82.7%

38.5% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

28.6%(citywide avg: 26.4%)

ELA avg. rating

2.39 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.39 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

7.4%(citywide avg: 20.7%)

Math avg. rating

2.08 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.30 / 4.5)

Science % proficient (Grade 8 only)

17.2%

Science avg. rating (Grade 8 only)

2.42 / 4.5

By grade

Grade 6 ELA

35.3%

Small sample (17 students) -- treat as directional.

Grade 6 Math

5.3%

Small sample (19 students) -- treat as directional.

Grade 7 ELA

23.3%

Grade 7 Math

6.5%

Grade 8 ELA

30%

Grade 8 Math

9.7%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

5%(citywide avg: 7.3%)

English Language Learners -- Math

0%(citywide avg: 20.5%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

29.3%

Students with disabilities -- Math

12.5%

Black students -- ELA

39.3%(citywide avg: 36.4%)

Black students -- Math

10.7%(citywide avg: 22.4%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

20%(citywide avg: 20.3%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

6.1%(citywide avg: 17.9%)

"% proficient" is the share of students scoring Level 3 or 4 on the state test. Citywide comparisons are the average across schools of the same type. Grades and groups with very few tested students are flagged since a handful of kids can swing the percentage a lot; groups too small to report are omitted by DOE for student privacy -- that's also why Science, tested only once, shows up far less often than ELA/Math.Source: NYC Open Data: School Quality Reports Data (2024-25 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See full grade-by-grade test results (ELA, Math, Science) →

Demographics

87 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 91.36%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

2.3%

Black

45.98%

Hispanic or Latino

45.98%

White

5.75%

Multiracial

Native American

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

51.72%

English Language Learners

13.79%

Living in poverty

90.8%

Female

26.44%

Male

73.56%

Neither female nor male

Economic Need Index is DOE's estimate of the share of students facing economic hardship, based on eligibility for public assistance, temporary housing status, and household income relative to the poverty line. Some very high values are reported by DOE only as "Above 95%" for student privacy and are shown here as 95%.Source: NYC DOE: Demographic Snapshot (2025-26 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

Middle School admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

For seats starting the 2026-27 school year. NYC DOE reports these seat/applicant figures under the school year they're for, not the cycle that filled them.

Open

42 seats

1 applicants per seat

Not all seats filled last year

Priority groups, in the order NYC DOE offers seats. Tap a group for NYC DOE's exact wording.

1. Priority to applicants whose sibling(s) will be enrolled in this school next year

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 10 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~21% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

2. Then to students and residents of District 5

~100% admitted

There were about 20 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~48% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

3. Then to New York City residents

~100% admitted

Estimates derived from NYC DOE's own wording, which rounds and fuzzes small numbers for privacy. Each group's applicant count is independent of the others -- schools are usually oversubscribed, so applicant counts across groups often add up to more than the total seats. That's expected, not an error.Source: NYC DOE MySchools Admissions Data (Through the 2025-26 cycle for middle school, 2024-25 for kindergarten (2025-26 kindergarten results not yet published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See your own chances here

Which priority group your child falls into decides the odds above. The iPhone app works that out from your address and answers, then builds your whole ranked MySchools list. How it works

Download on theApp Store

School survey

Family, student, and teacher responses on instruction, safety, school climate, and family engagement.

See detailed school survey results (Families, Students, Teachers) →

More District 5 schools

All District 5 schools →