Isaac Newton Middle School for Math & Science

ELA proficiency of 48.6% is essentially even with the district average of 49.8%, while math proficiency at 33.5% lags the district's 45.2% by a meaningful margin. The bigger picture is the climb: in 2016, just 12.6% of students hit ELA proficiency and 8.4% hit math; both have risen substantially, with math tripling-plus. Results by grade are uneven — Grade 7 posts the strongest numbers (57.1% ELA, 45.3% math), Grade 6 is solid, and Grade 8 math collapses to 15%, suggesting kids enter ready but lose ground by the time they sit for the state test. Overall score of 1.64 out of 4 sits below the district average of 1.90.

The school reads warm and family-forward. Parent satisfaction is 97% (well above the district's 91%), and parent-teacher and parent-principal trust are both in the mid-to-high 90s — unusually strong signals. Teachers rate instruction quality at 91% (above district), but their trust in the principal is 83%, the one survey number that sits closer to average and worth watching. Discipline is mild and trending the right way: only six suspensions last year (2%), down from 13 two years ago. Attendance at 89.1% is slightly above district, yet chronic absenteeism at 59.6% means nearly six in ten students miss 10% or more of school — a tension between generally engaged families and kids struggling to get through the door every day.

The student body is overwhelmingly Latino and Black (72% Hispanic, 21% Black, 5% Asian, 1% White), reflecting East Harlem's working-class character and its high economic need index of 92.5% — one of the highest in the district. Twenty-seven percent of students have IEPs, and the school provides ELL Support for newcomers. Twenty-seven percent of teachers responded to the climate survey, which is a modest sample, and 30% of families did — meaning the glowing parent-trust numbers come from a self-selected, engaged slice of families rather than the full roster.

East Harlem (North) is one of Manhattan's most working-class neighborhoods: median household income around $36,700, a third of residents living below the poverty line, and only about 11% of households including children. Homeownership is unusually low at 8%, reflecting a renter-heavy population, while the median home value near $676,000 shows how sharply market values diverge from local incomes. Just under 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and the school serves as a steady anchor for families navigating a neighborhood with real economic pressure.

The school is roughly a 12-minute walk to the 116 St (6) station, about 13 minutes to the 110 St (6) station, and about 15 minutes to the 125 St (4 5 6) station — a few long blocks from the nearest trains, so most families rely on the bus or drive.