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Perception gapsmedium

Wealthy-zoned schools where chronic absenteeism is rising — and what that says about the parents

The question

Why are some New York City schools in wealthy neighborhoods now seeing chronic absenteeism rates above 50%?

Fifteen New York City schools serving easier-to-serve student bodies (challenge groups 1-3 on the 1-to-10 scale) posted chronic absenteeism above 25% in 2024-25, with several above 50%. The list splits into two kinds of schools. Some are wealthy zoned schools where post-COVID family attendance norms have loosened — P.S. 270 Johann DeKalb, P.S. 116 Mary Lindley Murray. Others are selective high schools where the demographic challenge rating misses the mark because the student body looks advantaged but the school has structural issues — Murry Bergtraum at 75%, Pace HS at 58%. Two different stories on the same list.

Read the full briefing

Data analysis

Investigation run 2026-05-25.

TL;DR

Fifteen New York City schools serving easier-to-serve student bodies (challenge groups 1-3) reported chronic absenteeism above 25% in 2024-25. The highest: Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan (challenge group 3) at 75%. Several are zoned neighborhood schools in gentrifying parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The pattern reflects a mix: wealthy-zoned schools where post-COVID family travel norms have loosened, and secondary schools where teenagers exercise more autonomy in attendance decisions.

Wealthy-population schools with high chronic absenteeism (2024-25)

SchoolBoroughProclivityChronic abs %
Murry Bergtraum HS for BusinessManhattan374.6
PS 3 Bedford VillageBrooklyn361.4
PS 287 Bailey K. AshfordBrooklyn259.5
Pace HSManhattan358.2
Urban Assembly School for Law and JusticeBrooklyn257.9
PS 116 Mary Lindley MurrayManhattan355.7
Brighter Choice Community SchoolBrooklyn254.4
PS 138 Samuel RandallBronx353.1
PS 270 Johann DeKalbBrooklyn250
Benjamin Banneker AcademyBrooklyn149.9
PS 150 ChristopherBrooklyn349.2
August Martin HSQueens348.7
HS for Community LeadershipQueens348.7
Institute for Health ProfessionsQueens248.6
Queens HS of TeachingQueens248.4

Two stories in one list

Type A — wealthy-zoned schools where families take longer trips and post-COVID attendance norms have loosened: PS 270 Johann DeKalb (Brooklyn, challenge group 2), PS 116 Mary Lindley Murray (Manhattan, challenge group 3). These schools serve advantaged populations and yet post chronic absenteeism above 50% — well outside the range their demographics alone would predict. Something has shifted in upper-middle-class attendance behavior since 2019.

Type B — selective HS where the 'proclivity' rating is misleading because the students' demographics look advantaged but the school has structural issues: Murry Bergtraum (74.6%) is a large business HS in Lower Manhattan that has reported persistent operational difficulties; Pace HS (58%) is a downtown small HS with declining enrollment. Their proclivity decile reflects selective enrollment that pulls the metric toward advantaged students.

The Bedford Village data point

PS 3 Bedford Village (Brooklyn) hitting 61% chronic absenteeism while sitting in challenge group 3 is a striking outlier. Bedford-Stuyvesant has gentrified substantially; PS 3 is likely seeing the wealthy-pullout pattern. Worth a school-specific dive.

Caveats

Proclivity decile uses demographics that may lag (we use most-recent year, but neighborhoods change faster than the snapshot). Some of these schools may be more 'mid' than 'top' in current student composition.

What's next

Pair this with the elementary-attendance-stuck story. The wealthy-zoned schools with rising absenteeism are a real phenomenon — survey parents at PS 116, PS 270 for attitude shifts.

Methodology & replication recipe — the data sources, queries, and steps behind this analysis.

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