At a Glance
A small Bronx elementary where math scores have surged well past the district average — though chronic absenteeism is the question families should ask first.
Best suited for
Families who want a small, high-performing elementary in a working-class Bronx neighborhood and are ready to engage with the school about attendance and routines — this is not a "drop off and forget" environment.
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
- Math proficiency at 77% runs roughly 35 points above the District 10 average.
- Grade 5 math hits 88.4%, signaling unusually strong upper-grade instruction.
- PTA fundraising of about $145 per student is nearly double the district norm of $74.
- Zero suspensions across three consecutive school years (2021-22 through 2023-24).
- Teachers rate classroom instruction quality at 96% and student safety at 100%.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism is 79.6% — genuinely high and worth asking the school directly about what is driving it.
- Only 48% of teachers report trust in school leadership, an unusual gap given how warmly parents rate the principal.
- Only 20 teachers responded to the climate survey — the teacher-side numbers carry real uncertainty.
- Parent satisfaction (91%) is actually slightly below the District 10 average of 94%.
- Class size of 22.9 matches the district average, so small-class instruction is not a feature here.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 10
District 10 schools cluster around an overall score of 1.77 out of 4, and Ampark's 2.83 places it among the stronger elementary options in the borough — not the top of the peer list, but clearly above the typical District 10 school.
Academics
In District 10, the average school posts roughly 45% ELA and 43.5% math proficiency — Ampark's 64% ELA and 77% math place it in a different tier entirely. Math has been the more dramatic story, climbing from 56.5% in 2022 to 77.2% in 2025, with Grade 5 hitting an exceptional 88.4%. ELA bounced around for years but jumped sharply in 2025, suggesting the recent gains reflect a real academic shift rather than a one-year fluke.
Culture
The school reads as warm and orderly on the family-facing side: zero suspensions for three straight years, 100% teacher-reported safety, and parents giving the principal and teachers 95–96% trust scores. Teacher instruction quality is rated at 96%, an unusually high figure. But two things complicate the picture — only 48% of teachers report trust in school leadership (a notable gap between the family-facing culture and the staff experience), and chronic absenteeism at 79.6% is severe enough that families should ask the school what is driving it. With only 20 teacher survey responses, the staff-side numbers should be read with that small sample in mind.
Community
Ampark's 341 students are 60% Hispanic, 15% White, 13% Black, and 6% Asian, with a diversity index of 67% — meaningfully more mixed than many Bronx elementaries. The neighborhood's median income of $55,000 and 21% poverty rate put it on par with a typical District 10 community, and the school's 48% economic need index and 20% IEP share reflect real diversity of need. That the school is producing top-tier results while serving that mix of students is perhaps its strongest unspoken feature.
Neighborhood
Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village is a residential stretch of the central Bronx where roughly a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 21% of residents live below the poverty line, and only 18% of households own their homes — most families rent. The neighborhood skews family-oriented, with about 13.5% of households including children, and the area around the school is solidly middle-to-working-class rather than affluent.
Three subway options sit within a 9-to-12-minute walk: the 4 at Mosholu Pkwy (about 9 minutes), the 1 at 238 St (about 10 minutes), and the 1 at Van Cortlandt Park-242 St (about 12 minutes).
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) · 126 families responded (42% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
Ampark Neighborhood 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
Ampark Neighborhood doesn't have an attendance zone of its own, so living nearby doesn't guarantee a seat here. Families apply on MySchools, and seats go to the school's priority groups first, 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 this school with your zoned school, if you have one, and any others you'd take — in true preference order.
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 Ampark Neighborhood a good school?
- On Motley, Ampark Neighborhood earns an overall rating of 71/100 — 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 above the District 10 average.
- What grades does Ampark Neighborhood serve?
- Ampark Neighborhood serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- Is Ampark Neighborhood public, charter, or private?
- Ampark Neighborhood is a public school in NYC Community School District 10.
- What neighborhood is Ampark Neighborhood in?
- Ampark Neighborhood is in Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, Bronx.