WILLIAM LYNCH SCHOOL (THE) vs PS 153 ADAM CLAYTON POWELL

PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell edges out William Lynch School by 0.3 points overall — 9.3 versus 9.0 out of 10 — but both schools sit well above the state median. The statewide rank gap is more telling: PS 153 ranks #13 of 4,739 schools in New York, while William Lynch School ranks #65 of the same pool. Both placements represent exceptional performance, but PS 153 holds a demonstrably stronger position at the very top of the distribution.

On academic outcomes, PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell scores 8.8 out of 10 compared to William Lynch School's 8.5 — a concrete 0.3-point advantage that tracks with the overall rating gap. Growth scores tell a different story: William Lynch School narrowly leads at 10.0 versus PS 153's 9.9, meaning students at William Lynch are advancing at a marginally faster rate relative to their starting points. Families prioritizing raw academic achievement will favor PS 153; those weighing year-over-year student progress will find William Lynch essentially tied or fractionally ahead.

PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell enrolls 389 students against William Lynch School's 249, making PS 153 roughly 56 percent larger. The student-teacher ratio at PS 153 is 11.4:1 compared to 12.4:1 at William Lynch — tighter at PS 153 despite its larger headcount. The free and reduced-price lunch rate diverges more sharply: 89 percent at PS 153 versus 67 percent at William Lynch, a 22-point gap that reflects meaningfully different family income profiles across the two schools.

Both PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell and William Lynch School serve the same grade band — pre-K through 5th grade — so neither school offers a structural advantage in terms of the years it covers. The decision between them comes down to the metrics above rather than any difference in grade span or program level.