Explorations Academy H.S.

The data provided doesn't include school-level ELA, math, or science proficiency scores, so academic outcomes are hard to pin down from numbers alone. What we do see: the school offers AP Courses alongside ELL Support and STEM, the program richness score is a perfect 100/100, and admissions demand is fierce (a 20% offer rate for the Computer Science and Technology track), which together suggest families see real academic value here. Average class size is 21.9, essentially identical to the district average of 21.9, so students aren't getting unusually small sections. Class size 21.9 matches the district average of 21.9 almost exactly, so any academic edge here would have to come from culture rather than staffing ratios.

Parents are emphatic — 99% satisfaction, 100% parent-teacher trust, 100% parent-principal trust — all well above the district averages of roughly 92% and unlisted trust figures respectively. Zero suspensions in a school where 30% of students have IEPs is genuinely unusual and points to a culture where conflicts get resolved in classrooms, not the principal's office. Teachers rate instructional quality at 91% (above the district's 88%) and trust the principal at 87%, but teacher-to-teacher collegial trust sits at just 63% — a hint that the staff aren't as tightly knit as the families are. The 91% family survey response rate is unusually high and reinforces that this is a school where parents show up.

The student body is 71% Hispanic and 26% Black, with very small percentages of Asian, White, Multi-Racial, and Native American students — a diversity index of 40%, which is below the citywide norm and reflects a community that's largely Dominican and African American. The economic need index of 92.9 means almost every student comes from a low-income household, and 30% have IEPs, so this is a high-need environment by any measure. The neighborhood around the school is similarly working-class — median household income sits around $41,000 and the poverty rate is 28.5% — so the school's demographics closely mirror its surroundings. Most families sending kids here are local, working-class, and navigating real economic pressure.

Crotona Park East is a working-class Bronx neighborhood where most adults never finished a four-year degree (only about 15% of residents hold a BA or higher), the median home value is around $599,000 but homeownership sits at just 9.6%, meaning most residents rent. The area has a relatively young population but a lower share of households with children than the city average, so families with school-age kids are a meaningful but not dominant presence. The 28.5% poverty rate tells you this is a neighborhood where many households are stretched thin. That context matters — a school posting 99% parent satisfaction in a community like this is doing something real.

The 174 St station (2 5) is about a 4-minute walk, the Freeman St station (2 5) is roughly 9 minutes, and Whitlock Av (6) is around 15 minutes on foot.