J.H.S. 098 Herman Ridder

Proficiency rates here sit well below district averages — 26.7% in ELA versus the district's 44.6%, and 30.7% in math versus 43.3%. Science proficiency is 19.5%. The trend is the most striking part of the story: ELA proficiency has nearly tripled from 9.8% in 2016 to 26.7% in 2024, and math climbed from 16.6% to 30.7%, with a particularly sharp jump in the most recent year. The overall quality score of 1.15 out of 4 is well below the district average of 1.76, but the trajectory suggests the school is moving in the right direction.

The climate picture is mixed. Teacher-reported instruction quality is just 39.4%, less than half the district average of 88.4% — a gap worth asking the school directly about. Parent satisfaction is more moderate at 75.4%, also below the district's 91.8% but considerably higher than what teachers report, suggesting families feel more positively about the school than staff do. Discipline is a bright spot: only one suspension in 2023-24, down from four in 2021-22, and the rate of 1% is well below the district average. Attendance is 89.3%, just slightly below the district's 90.1%, though chronic absenteeism is high at 63.7%, meaning missed school days are a regular pattern for most students.

With 154 students, Herman Ridder is a small middle school where 69% of students are Hispanic and 21% are Black. The surrounding Crotona Park East neighborhood shares that profile, with median household income around $41,412, just over a quarter of residents living below the poverty line, and only 14.7% of adults holding a bachelor's degree. About 26% of students have IEPs and the economic need index is 90.3%, reflecting the working-class character of the area.

Crotona Park East is a working-class Bronx neighborhood where most residents are renters — homeownership is just 9.6% — and median household income sits around $41,412. About 15% of households have children, and 14.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The median home value of around $599,000 reflects the neighborhood's density rather than affluence.

The school is closest to the 174 St station on the 2 and 5 lines, about a 4-minute walk. The Freeman St stop on the 2 and 5 is around 9 minutes away, and the Whitlock Av station on the 6 is about a 15-minute walk.