Bedford Park Elementary School

Test scores sit below district averages in both subjects — 38.5% ELA proficiency vs. the district's 45%, and 36.2% math vs. 43.5% — and the school's overall 1.49/4 score is meaningfully below the District 10 average of 1.77. The trajectory, though, tells a more encouraging story: after bottoming out in 2023 at 24.4% ELA and 22.2% math, scores have climbed each year, with 2025 marking the strongest results since 2018. Fifth-graders are pulling the most weight (44.6% ELA, 48.3% math), while fourth-graders are clearly struggling (29.8% ELA, just 19.6% math), suggesting the upper grades are where instruction is clicking and the middle of elementary is where it's not.

The culture picture is genuinely unusual. Parents love this school — 95% satisfaction, 98% trust in teachers, 97% trust in the principal, and a perfect 100% saying there are strong relationships — and the 68% family survey response rate (296 families weighing in) suggests that affection is real and broad, not just a vocal minority. Zero suspensions across three straight years (2021-22 through 2023-24) reinforces that this is a calm, well-managed building. The softer spots: chronic absenteeism is high at 58.8%, meaning more than half of students miss 10% or more of the school year, and attendance overall (88.6%) sits below the district's 90.8%. Teachers give instruction quality an 89% (below the district's 91.4%) and rate their trust in the principal at 81% — decent, but noticeably lower than the parent side, hinting that staff may feel less bought-in than families.

The student body is 68% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 9% White, 7% Black, and 1% Native American — a diversity index of 57% that reflects a genuinely mixed building rather than a two-group split. The neighborhood around the school is solidly working-class: median household income is just over $47,000, more than a quarter of residents live in poverty, and only 4.5% of households own their homes. The economic need index of 85.3 confirms that most families here are sending their kids to a school serving a high-need population, and the 16% IEP share means special education is a visible part of daily life in the building.

Norwood is a dense, renter-heavy residential pocket of the central Bronx where just 4.5% of households own their homes and the median home value sits around $460,000 — affordable for the borough, though the area's median income of about $47,000 and 26.8% poverty rate tell you families here are stretching. Only 18.3% of households include children, which is lower than you might expect for a neighborhood anchored by family-serving institutions, and just 22.8% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher. It reads as a working-immigrant community where schools carry real weight.

The D train at Norwood-205 St is the closest stop, about a five-minute walk from the school. The 2 and 5 at Burke Avenue is roughly nine minutes away, and the 2 and 5 at Gun Hill Road about thirteen minutes — enough options that most families within a mile have a real transit choice.