Castle Bridge School

ELA proficiency at 54.2% is comfortably above the district average of 47%, and the multi-year trend is the most striking academic story here — up from 42.4% in 2022 to 54.2% in 2025, a 12-point climb. Math is a different picture: 46.2% sits below the district average of 52.1%, and the score has bounced around (37.5% to 46.4% to 54.2% back down to 46.2%) without a clear direction. The school's overall quality score of 2.01/4 edges out the district average of 1.98/4, putting it roughly in the middle of the pack.

The survey numbers are genuinely outstanding — 99% parent-teacher trust, 100% on strong teacher-student relationships, 99% teacher collegial trust, and 95% teacher-reported safety. Zero suspensions in each of the past three years signals a warm, non-punitive culture. Daily attendance is healthy at 92.8%, slightly above the district average of 91.1%. The cloud over all this: 78.2% of students are chronically absent, meaning more than three-quarters miss enough school to flag as a concern — a real obstacle even when the families who do show up feel deeply connected.

The student body is 73% Hispanic and 19% White, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, Multi-Racial, and Native American students — a less mixed population than most NYC schools (diversity index 47%). With 31% of students classified as IEP and an economic need index of 64.2%, Castle Bridge serves a working-class slice of Washington Heights. Total enrollment of about 197 makes this one of the smaller elementary schools in the area, which tends to mean tighter relationships and fewer program options.

Southern Washington Heights is a predominantly renter neighborhood — only 8% of households own their homes — with a median household income of $55,786, a 22% poverty rate, and 33.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Notably, only 9% of households here include children, which is unusually low and suggests many of the area's families send their kids to schools elsewhere or live in adult-only households. The median home value sits around $750,000, reflecting the broader Manhattan market even in this more working-class corner.

Getting here is genuinely easy — the 168 St A and C trains are about a 1-minute walk, the 168 St-Washington Heights 1 train is about a 2-minute walk, and the 163 St-Amsterdam Av C train is about an 8-minute walk.