At a Glance
A small South Bronx elementary on a striking academic upswing, where parents rave and chronic absenteeism is the big hill to climb
Best suited for
Families who live along the 6 train in Mott Haven or Port Morris, value small school communities, and want to be part of a school that's visibly improving — and who are ready to engage with attendance as a shared responsibility.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- ELA proficiency has nearly doubled over the past decade, a rare growth trajectory in the South Bronx
- Three consecutive years with zero suspensions
- Near-universal parent trust in teachers (95%) and the principal (92%) — among the strongest family-school relationships in the district
- Small enrollment (234 students) means most families get to know each other and the staff
Things to consider
- Proficiency scores still sit meaningfully below district averages despite the recent gains
- Chronic absenteeism at 65% is the single biggest factor that could blunt the academic progress — ask the school directly how they're tackling it
- Teachers rate instruction quality and safety notably lower than parents do, and only 15 teachers responded to the survey — worth asking why
- Heads-up that 20% of students have IEPs, which may matter if your child needs services or if you're comparing support levels
- No other subway lines nearby — commuting from outside the 6 train corridor is a real consideration
Based on 2024-2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
District 7's average overall score is 2.01 out of 4; Academy of Exploratory Arts sits at 1.59, placing it below most of its peers on paper. Several highly rated charter schools operate in the same catchment area, including South Bronx Classical Charter School II and Success Academy Bronx 1, which gives families real choices. The school's improvement trajectory sets it apart from many of those alternatives that started strong and stayed flat.
Academics
Proficiency still trails the District 7 average (ELA 42% vs. 51%, Math 37% vs. 49%), but the trajectory is the story here. Both ELA and Math have climbed substantially since 2016, and 2025 brought the best scores in nearly a decade on both measures. Grade 3 and Grade 4 outperform Grade 5 in math, suggesting the momentum is strongest with younger students. With an overall quality score of 1.59 out of 4 (district average 2.01), the school is below average on paper but trending in the right direction.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here is a study in contrasts that parents should sit with. Three years of zero suspensions suggests a calm, well-managed building where behavior isn't a constant disruption. Family-facing trust scores are unusually high — parents report 95% trust in teachers, 92% trust in the principal, and 90% overall satisfaction. But teachers tell a different story: only 70% rate instruction quality positively (district average 88%), 62% feel safe (district average 80%), and teacher-principal trust sits at 71%. Note that only 15 teachers responded to the survey, so read those numbers as signal, not verdict. Attendance is another stress point — 89.4% schoolwide, and chronic absenteeism runs at 65%, with girls missing substantially more school than boys (71% vs. 60%).
Community
The 234 students mirror the surrounding neighborhood closely — 76% Hispanic and 23% Black, with a diversity index of 34% reflecting the relatively homogeneous local population. Twenty percent of students have IEPs, and the Economic Need Index of 93 means almost every family qualifies for free lunch. Class sizes average about 20, in line with the rest of the district.
Neighborhood
Mott Haven-Port Morris is one of the poorer corners of the Bronx, with a median household income around $29,000 and a poverty rate just over 40%. About 12% of households include children, and only 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Homeownership is rare at 6%, though property values on paper look high — a sign of how much neighborhood values have shifted. The families sending kids here are largely renters navigating a tight economy, and the school sits in the middle of that reality.
The 6 train is your friend — Brook Av is roughly a 3-minute walk, with 3 Av-138 St about 7 minutes and Cypress Av around 8 minutes. No other lines serve the area.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 76 families responded (38% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
Academy of Exploratory Arts also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
District 7 is a school-choice district, so it has no elementary zones: no address guarantees a seat at Academy of Exploratory Arts. Families across the district apply on MySchools, and seats go to priority groups first (siblings, then families in the school's area — District 7 is split into a north and a south area), then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank every school you'd accept, in true preference order — with no zoned seat to fall back on, a longer list matters.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Academy of Exploratory Arts a good school?
- On Motley, Academy of Exploratory Arts earns an overall rating of 40/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run below the District 7 average.
- What grades does Academy of Exploratory Arts serve?
- Academy of Exploratory Arts serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into Academy of Exploratory Arts?
- Academy of Exploratory Arts admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is Academy of Exploratory Arts public, charter, or private?
- Academy of Exploratory Arts is a public school in NYC Community School District 7.
- What neighborhood is Academy of Exploratory Arts in?
- Academy of Exploratory Arts is in Mott Haven-Port Morris, Bronx.