Linden Tree Elementary School

The 2025 scores — 43% ELA proficiency and 50% math — represent a remarkable jump from the school's recent low point in 2022 (19.6% ELA, 16.6% math). That kind of year-over-year leap deserves attention: math proficiency roughly doubled in a single year, and ELA more than doubled. Even so, both subjects still trail the District 11 averages of about 57% ELA and 56% math, so the school is catching up rather than leading. Grade-by-grade, third-graders posted the strongest math results (62%), while fifth-grade math lagged at 37% — worth asking whether the upper grades are where momentum is hardest to sustain.

The trust picture at Linden Tree is genuinely unusual. Parents give the principal a 97% trust rating and report 94% trust in their child's teacher — strong numbers that suggest families feel welcome and listened to. But only 46% of teachers say they trust the principal, a sharp disconnect that signals tension inside the building even as the front door feels open. Day-to-day, the school runs with essentially zero suspensions (none in 2023-24, and just one the year before), and teacher-reported safety sits at 94%, right at the district average. The biggest climate flag is chronic absenteeism at 66% — more than two out of three students miss enough school to be flagged — which is the kind of number that quietly undercuts everything else a school is trying to do.

Linden Tree's 350 students are majority Hispanic (56%), with a substantial Asian population (23%) and a notable Black contingent (16%) — a mix that mirrors Parkchester's long-standing identity as a crossroads of immigrant and working-class Bronx families. About 85% of students qualify as high economic need, and 21% have IEPs, so the school carries a heavier social and academic load than its enrollment size might suggest. The diversity index of 64% reflects a student body where no single group dominates and several communities learn side by side.

Parkchester is one of the Bronx's most recognizable residential neighborhoods — a dense, middle-of-the-road working-class community with a median household income around $59,700 and roughly a quarter of residents living below the poverty line. About 16% of households include children, and 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, putting the area below the citywide education average but well above many nearby Bronx tracts. Homeownership is unusually low for a residential area of its size, reflecting the neighborhood's large co-op and rental complexes. Families here are accustomed to a community built around apartment living, local shopping corridors, and the steady rhythm of the 6 train.

The 6 train covers this school from three directions — Castle Hill Avenue is about a 7-minute walk, Zerega Avenue about 8 minutes, and the Parkchester station about 12 minutes — making car-free commuting realistic for most families in the zone.