Academy of Public Relations

The numbers here are sobering. ELA proficiency at 19.4% is less than half the district average of 51.3%, and math proficiency at 6.8% is dramatically below the district's 49%. Science proficiency at 3.6% is among the lowest you'll see anywhere. There is a faint positive trend in ELA — from 13% in 2016 to a peak of 27.8% in 2024 — but the most recent year dropped back to 19.4%. Math has been erratic, swinging from 14% in 2023 down to 6.8%, with no consistent trajectory. The 8th-grade ELA score (28.9%) is the strongest signal in the building; the 8th-grade math score (2.2%) is the weakest. This is a school where students are catching up, not leading.

The day-to-day feel, at least according to parents, is warm and trusting. Family satisfaction is at 99%, parent-teacher trust is at 100%, and parent-principal trust is at 100% — numbers that essentially never appear in NYC school data. Teacher-principal trust (93%) and teacher collegial trust (100%) are also strong. But teacher-reported instruction quality sits at 75%, well below the district average of 88.4%, which suggests educators themselves see room to grow on classroom practice. Discipline is barely a presence — just one suspension in 2023-24, a 1% rate that mirrors the district. The elephant in the room is chronic absenteeism at 68.7%, meaning more than two-thirds of students miss enough school to qualify as chronically absent. The gap between boys (77.3%) and girls (55.9%) on that measure is stark.

The student body is 79% Hispanic and 20% Black, with a diversity index of just 32% — meaning the school is less diverse than the city as a whole, and most students share a similar cultural background. Nearly all students qualify as high-needs (economic need index 93.4%), and 38% have IEPs, which is notably high. These demographics closely mirror the surrounding Melrose community, where the median household income is around $30,000 and over a third of households live in poverty.

Melrose is a dense, working-class South Bronx neighborhood where most households rent (homeownership is just 10%) and the median household income hovers near $30,000. About 38% of residents live below the poverty line, and roughly 16% of households include children — a relatively low share for a residential neighborhood, which speaks to how many neighbors are single adults or seniors. Fewer than 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. It's a transit-dependent area where most families get around by subway rather than by car.

Families have three reasonable subway options: the Jackson Av and Prospect Av stops on the 2 and 5 lines are about 4 and 5 minutes on foot, respectively, and the 6 train at E 149 St is roughly a 10-minute walk.