The Samuel Huntington School, PS 40, remains an LSI (Local Support and Improvement otherwise known in Good Standing) school.

The Samuel Huntington School, PS 40 is located in South Jamaica Queens.  Our community consists of 317 scholars, 50% male, 50% female, the demographic breakdown includes 55% Black, 27% Latinx, 11% Pacific Islander, 5% White, and 1% Native American. 

21% of our population is special needs, 14% are English Language Learners.  86% of families are economically-disadvantaged.  

In reading, also known as ELA, in the last 7 years, the percentage of scholars in grades 3 – 5 who are proficient readers grew from 8% to 66%, that is a 58% increase.  Our ELLs grew from 5.9% to 40%, and our students receiving special education services grew from 4% to 66%, which is a 62% increase.  In Math in the last 7 years, the percentage of scholars who are proficient mathematicians grew from 13% to 76%, which is a 63% increase.  Our ELLs grew by 9% from 41% to 50%, and our students receiving special education services grew by 40% from 50% to 90%.   We are very proud of our progress gained through Tier I, Tier II and Tier III support provided by classroom teachers, IEP/SETSS teacher, ENL teacher, and supplemental services from community based reading and math partnerships.    

Our school is the recipient of a $1.3 million literacy grant through the Pinkerton Foundation for our tenth year for the 2023-2024 school year, to provide supplemental reading intervention services for all scholars. This initiative is called South Jamaica Reads (SJR) and consists of the following community based literacy partners: Jumpstart (delivers literacy theme based learning activities for Pre-Kindergarten students twice per week for 2 hours each session), Read Alliance (supports Kindergarten through grade 2 students in reading and homework help 2-3 days per week after school on a one to one basis), Reading Partners provides one to one reading support grades K – 4 students in need during the school day for one hour and after school twice per week for one hour.  Springboard provides our lower grade Kindergarten through grade 3 scholars with a summer reading program 4 days per week for 3 hours per day to enrich reading comprehension skills. Literacy Inc. (provides family workshops and workshops for parents, trains parents to volunteer to work in various capacities virtually within the school.  Literacy Inc. facilitates parent workshops and trains parents to be volunteers in the school. The South Jamaica library offers parent literacy workshops and invites guest readers to read to various classes.