Bold Charter School

Bold's 84.2% ELA proficiency and 91% math proficiency in 2025 are stunning by district standards — both roughly double the District 12 averages of 44.6% and 43.3% — and the trajectory is the real story. ELA climbed from 60.3% in 2022 to 84.2% in 2025, and math rose from 65.5% to 91%, with gains across every tested grade. By Grade 5, 86% of students hit ELA proficiency and 86% hit math; the school is genuinely producing results, not just selecting for them.

Bold earns high marks from the families and teachers who respond — 97% parent satisfaction, 98% teacher-rated instruction quality, 94% teacher-reported safety, and 96% parent-teacher trust — pointing to a coherent, well-led school. But chronic absenteeism at 76.9% is a serious flag that contradicts the otherwise strong climate picture: attendance rate (93.3%) is above the district average, yet nearly four out of five students miss 10% or more of the school year, with Hispanic students hardest hit at 83.2%. Trust numbers say the school runs well; the absenteeism data says the experience varies depending on who's actually in the building each day.

Bold serves 240 students across K-7, with a body that's 64% Hispanic and 28% Black — a fairly direct mirror of the surrounding Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River neighborhood, where poverty runs above 30% and median household income hovers around $41,000. The economic need index of nearly 90% confirms what the demographics suggest: this is a school serving working-class families, not a selective program drawing from outside the area. IEP enrollment at 19% sits in line with district norms, and average class sizes around 23 are slightly above the district's 21.9.

The Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River area around Bold is a working-class stretch of the South Bronx with a poverty rate above 30% and a median household income just over $41,000 — among the lower-income pockets in the borough. Only 16% of households here include children, and bachelor's-degree attainment sits at 15%, which gives a sense of the modest educational backdrop surrounding the school. Homeownership is low (13%), so most families rent, though the $572,262 median home value reflects the housing market rather than what residents actually pay.

The 6 train is your friend here — Elder Av and Whitlock Av are each about a 6-minute walk, and Morrison Av-Soundview is roughly 10 minutes on foot.