Creo College Preparatory Charter School

ELA proficiency at 55.3% sits a few points above the District 7 average of 51.3%, while math proficiency at 50.1% is essentially even with the district average of 49.0%. The more striking story is the trajectory: in 2022, only 29% of students were proficient in math and 40% in ELA — those numbers have climbed steadily every year since, with the 2024-25 eighth-grade cohort posting 75.9% proficiency in ELA and 66.7% in math. Sixth-graders are still catching up (46% ELA, 44% math), but the older students are clearly benefiting from the school's cumulative work.

Parent satisfaction is high at 94% (just above the district average of 93.5%), and parent trust in both teachers and the principal sits at 97%. The teacher-side numbers are unusually strong for a District 7 school: 100% of teachers report trust in their principal, 98% rate instruction quality positively, and 88% describe the school as safe — all well above district averages. The clear weak spot is attendance. The school's 88% daily attendance rate trails the district's 91.1%, and 52.5% of students are chronically absent, meaning they've missed 10% or more of the school year. Boys and Hispanic students are slightly over-represented in that absenteeism figure.

Creo serves a student body that is 64% Hispanic and 33% Black, with very small Asian and White populations — a demographic profile that closely tracks the surrounding Melrose neighborhood, which has a poverty rate above 38% and a median household income under $31,000. The economic need index of 84.4% tells you most families are navigating real financial pressure. Twenty-six percent of students have IEPs, which is on the higher side and shapes the daily work of teachers. Despite the concentration of need, the parent survey response rate (40%) is healthy, and trust scores suggest families feel genuinely connected to the school.

Melrose sits in the heart of the South Bronx, a neighborhood where the median household income is roughly $30,236 and more than a third of residents live below the poverty line. Only about 16% of households include children, and just under 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — a community shaped more by extended kinship networks than by college-educated parent cohorts. Homeownership is rare at 10%, so most families rent and many move during the school years, which complicates the chronic absenteeism picture.

The 3 Av-149 St station on the 2 and 5 lines is about a 2-minute walk from the school, and the 149 St-Grand Concourse station (served by the 2 and 5, and the 4) is roughly a 9-minute walk away, so most families can reach the school by subway.