At a Glance
A career-focused high school where students learn construction trades by doing, in the heart of the South Bronx
Best suited for
Families whose teens are hands-on learners and want to graduate with a real trade credential — especially those interested in architecture, construction, or design — and who value small-school culture and high staff trust over traditional academic prestige
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Two specialized CTE programs in Building Construction and Architecture and Design, both oversubscribed at roughly 2:1 applicant-to-seat ratios
- A perfect 100/100 program richness score, reflecting deep extracurricular offerings like SkillsUSA, Girls Who Code, Model UN, Carpentry Club, and National Honor Society
- Zero suspensions in the reporting period — exceptionally rare for a high school
- Teacher collegial trust of 94%, signaling a staff that genuinely works well together
Things to consider
- Parent satisfaction (86%) is below the district average (94%), so some families aren't fully bought in
- The family survey response rate is low at 21%, so satisfaction numbers reflect a self-selected group
- No state proficiency data is available in this dataset, making it harder to benchmark traditional academic outcomes
- High IEP enrollment (43%) means the school serves many students with significant learning needs — a strength in support services but worth knowing if your child has or hasn't had prior IEP involvement
- As an ed-opt school, families need to apply and compete for seats — not guaranteed enrollment
Based on 2024-2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
The school sits in District 7 in the South Bronx, surrounded by charter and selective schools that score in the 75–97 range on NYC's school quality measures. Bronx Design and Construction Academy doesn't compete on those traditional academic metrics because it's a career-and-technical pathway school — a different kind of value proposition than the test-score leaders in the area.
Academics
The school offers AP courses alongside its career-technical programs, which is notable for a CTE-focused school. State test proficiency data is not provided in this profile, so direct comparison to the district's ~51% ELA and ~49% Math averages isn't possible here. Class size of 20.5 mirrors the district average, so students aren't getting unusually small or large instructional groups. The real academic story at this school is hands-on: architecture, building construction, and design pathways with strong CTE enrichment like SkillsUSA and Habitat for Humanity.
Culture
Day-to-day culture is one of this school's strongest suits. Zero suspensions is striking for a high school — far below the district's 0.84% suspension rate — suggesting firm but relationship-driven discipline rather than punitive removal. Teacher-to-principal trust sits at 90% and collegial trust at 94%, meaning staff genuinely work well together. Parent satisfaction at 86% is solid but trails the district average of about 94%, and the family survey response rate of 21% suggests fewer parents are weighing in compared to the school's parent body.
Community
The student body is 69% Hispanic and 29% Black, which mirrors the Melrose neighborhood almost exactly. Nearly all students come from economically stressed households, with an economic need index of 92.9 — among the highest in the city. About 43% of students have IEPs, a notably high share that means the school is experienced with a wide range of learning needs. Despite the modest family survey response, parents who do respond express strong trust in teachers and the principal.
Neighborhood
Melrose is a densely populated, working-class South Bronx neighborhood where median household income is just over $30,000 and over a third of residents live below the poverty line. Only about 16% of households have children, and just 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — meaning this is largely a neighborhood of renters (90% of households) and working families. Home values around $366,000 are modest by city standards, reflecting a community that has historically been under-resourced but is seeing reinvestment.
Families can reach the school via the 2 and 5 trains at 3 Av-149 St, about a 5-minute walk, or the 2, 5, and 4 lines at 149 St-Grand Concourse, about an 8-minute walk. Three subway lines serving two nearby stations makes it one of the more transit-accessible campuses in the South Bronx.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 44 families responded (21% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Students will experience all trades: Electrical Engineering, Carpentry Technology, Plumbing Technology, and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology as a rotation before choosing their desired field of study. Students will obtain OSHA certification prior to beginning college-level CTE coursework in their second year. Internships begin as early as the 10th grade. Students will also have access to NCCER certification upon completion of a building trade curriculum.
The 4-year course work enables students to work in architectural or building construction related jobs, or continue toward an advanced degree in the field. Students explore industry levels of mastery in AutoCAD, 3-D Modeling and printing, and Revit. Graduates find employment in related industries such as building engineering, construction, code enforcement, materials manufacturing, and residential design/build contracting.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Bronx Design and Construction Academy admits through 2 programs, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Architecture and DesignEd. Opt.
- Building Construction and TechnologyEd. Opt.
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
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 Bronx Design and Construction Academy a good school?
- On Motley, Bronx Design and Construction Academy earns an overall rating of 51/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Bronx Design and Construction Academy serve?
- Bronx Design and Construction Academy serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Bronx Design and Construction Academy?
- Bronx Design and Construction Academy uses the Educational Option (Ed-Opt) method, ranking applicants across performance levels so seats go to a mix of abilities.
- Is Bronx Design and Construction Academy public, charter, or private?
- Bronx Design and Construction Academy is a public school in NYC Community School District 7.
- What neighborhood is Bronx Design and Construction Academy in?
- Bronx Design and Construction Academy is in Melrose, Bronx.