Charter High School for Law and Social Justice

The headline number here is math: 76.2% proficiency versus a district 10 average of roughly 43.5%, which is genuinely exceptional for a Bronx school. ELA at 41.9% sits a few points below the district average of about 45%, so reading and writing is a relative weak spot, not a crisis. The school's overall quality score of 2.36 out of 4 lands comfortably above the district average of 1.77, putting it in stronger-than-average territory. One caveat parents should know: state test scores are only reported for Grade 6, which suggests the school's older grades either don't have current data reported or this is a relatively new program still scaling up.

This is a school where adults clearly trust each other — 100% of teachers trust the principal, 100% report collegial trust with peers, and 97% rate instruction quality positively. Families mirror that warmth: 96% parent satisfaction and 98% trust in both teachers and the principal, well above district averages. The flip side is real, though: attendance is 82.3% against a district average of about 90.8%, and more than a third of students are chronically absent. The gender split is striking — 41.7% of girls versus 30.8% of boys are chronically absent, and Hispanic students hit 44.7% — so the social and emotional pull on families is clearly a factor.

The student body is 82% Hispanic and 16% Black, with an economic need index of 89.3 — meaning nearly nine in ten students come from low-income households. Sixteen percent of students have IEPs, which is meaningful because it speaks to how the school handles a range of learners. The diversity index of 30% is on the lower side, so this is largely a community of shared cultural background rather than a melting pot. The neighborhood around the school shows the same profile: median household income of about $32,393 and a poverty rate above 37%, so the families here are sending their kids to a school that looks like the block they live on.

University Heights South and Morris Heights is a working-class, densely populated stretch of the Bronx where most households rent, homeownership sits around 6.5%, and the median home value of roughly $590,000 reflects multi-family buildings more than single-family houses. Only 14.1% of neighborhood households have children, and about 14.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, which means many families here are navigating school choice without a strong college-educated peer network to lean on. The school is a clear community anchor.

Three subway stops serve the school: Burnside Avenue on the 4 train is about a five-minute walk, 176th Street on the 4 is roughly eight minutes, and Tremont Avenue on the B and D lines is around nine minutes away.