J.H.S. 217 Robert A. Van Wyck

85-05 144 STREET, QUEENS, NY 11435 · Queens · Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

DBN: 28Q217

Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

Zoned: Middle

SchoolDigger: 949 (of 1500)

Niche: 548 (of 1516)

Fed by these elementary schools

P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway P.S. 055 Maure P.S. 099 Kew Gardens P.S. 161 Arthur Ashe School P.S. 117 J. Keld / Briarwood School P.S. 131 Abigail Adams P.S. Q086 P.S. 154 Queens P.S. 164 Queens Valley P.S. 054 Hillside David N. Dinkins School The Queens School for Leadership and Excellence P.S. 050 Talfourd Lawn Elementary School P.S. 082 Hammond P.S. 182 Samantha Smith

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: 91.2%

68.9% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

41.6%(citywide avg: 48.9%)

ELA avg. rating

2.77 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.91 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

41.9%(citywide avg: 46.9%)

Math avg. rating

2.85 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.91 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 6 ELA

38.2%

Grade 6 Math

41.7%

Grade 7 ELA

45.9%

Grade 7 Math

56.3%

Grade 8 ELA

40.4%

Grade 8 Math

28.8%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

22.7%(citywide avg: 26.2%)

English Language Learners -- Math

27.1%(citywide avg: 31.2%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

21.1%

Students with disabilities -- Math

19.7%

Asian students -- ELA

57.4%(citywide avg: 61.5%)

Asian students -- Math

59.5%(citywide avg: 64.3%)

Black students -- ELA

34.9%(citywide avg: 44.2%)

Black students -- Math

37%(citywide avg: 41.1%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

34%(citywide avg: 40%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

32.6%(citywide avg: 36.4%)

White students -- ELA

51.3%(citywide avg: 56.1%)

White students -- Math

57.4%(citywide avg: 60.9%)

Multiracial students -- Math

46.7%(citywide avg: 50.9%)

Small sample (15 students) -- treat as directional.

"% 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 (2023-24 school year)

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

Demographics

1438 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 78.9%

Race & ethnicity

Asian

32.2%

Black

11.5%

Hispanic or Latino

47.4%

White

3.2%

Multiracial

0.3%

Native American

5.4%

Other groups

Students with disabilities

17.4%

English Language Learners

23%

Living in poverty

75.9%

Female

45.9%

Male

54.1%

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 Open Data: Demographic Snapshot (2021-22 school year)

Middle School admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

Zone Priority

377 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 about 30 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~8% 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 residents of the middle school zone

~100% admitted

There were about 200 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~53% 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 District 28 students and residents

~100% admitted

There were about 60 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~16% 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).

4. Then to New York City residents

~100% admitted

There were about 20 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~5% 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).

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 (2025-26 admissions cycle)