Luisa Pineiro Fuentes School of Science and Discovery

ELA proficiency at 34.7% runs about 10 points below the District 10 average of 45%, and math at 27% trails the district by roughly 16 points. That said, the trajectory tells a more hopeful story: ELA has climbed from 23.3% in 2016 and math from 21.7%, with the 2022 dip looking like a pandemic artifact before rebounding sharply in 2023. Grade 5 ELA hit 46.4%, suggesting kids who stick with the school build real skills by the upper grades, even if the school overall isn't yet at district pace.

Chronic absenteeism is the headline number here: 58.4% of students miss enough school to be flagged, far above what most parents would consider manageable, and the issue hits boys (60.3%) harder than girls (56.1%). Parent satisfaction at 78.4% and teacher-reported instruction quality at 69.4% both run well below district averages in the 90s, suggesting the daily experience inside the building isn't landing the way it does at peer campuses. On the plus side, attendance sits just under the district average and the school has issued zero suspensions over two years — kids aren't getting kicked out, even if too many aren't showing up.

The student body is 85% Hispanic with small Black (6%), Asian (7%), and White (2%) populations, and an economic need index of 90.9% — nearly nine in ten students come from low-income households. The school mirrors its neighborhood closely: this is a community where many families are working-class renters, and a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. With 250 students, this is a small school where most families likely know each other, and where the population is more culturally unified than statistically diverse.

Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village is a working- and middle-class Bronx neighborhood where most people rent (homeownership sits at 18.1%), median household income is around $55,000, and about one in five residents is in poverty. Only 13.5% of households have children, so it's more a neighborhood of adults and small family clusters than a densely kid-packed area. The 4 train runs right through, making it a relatively easy commute for families who live along that line in the Bronx.

The 4 train at Kingsbridge Rd is about a 6-minute walk, Fordham Rd (4) is roughly 9 minutes, and the B/D at Kingsbridge Rd is about 10 minutes on foot — solid transit access for a Bronx school.