Middle School 322

ELA proficiency at 27.7% sits roughly 19 percentage points below the district average of 47%, and math at 38.1% trails the district by about 14 points. The overall composite score of 1.32 out of 4 reflects that gap. Math tells a different story than the snapshot suggests, however — proficiency climbed from 13.2% in 2022 to 38.1% in 2025, a near-tripling in three years. ELA has plateaued in the high 20s since 2018 with no real movement. Grade 8 is the school's academic engine, posting 52.4% math proficiency and 31.6% ELA — the strongest of any grade. Honors coursework, Algebra I, and Specialized High School test prep are available for students ready to accelerate.

Parent trust is the headline number here — 98% of families report trust in the principal and 96% trust teachers, both unusually high for District 6. Parent satisfaction lands at 93%, matching the district norm. The flip side is the teacher picture: only 78% of teachers trust the principal and instruction quality sits at 84%, both meaningfully below the district averages of around 90%. Attendance at 91.4% is essentially identical to the district average, but chronic absenteeism runs high at 69.8%, signaling a school-wide pattern rather than a small group of missing students. Discipline is the most important thing to weigh — the suspension rate of 3% is roughly seven times the district average of 0.43%, and total suspensions have crept up from zero two years ago to seven last year. Twenty-three teacher survey responses is a small sample, so teacher-side numbers carry some uncertainty.

The student body is 95% Hispanic with minimal representation from other groups, making this a demographically concentrated school rather than a broadly diverse one. Twenty-two percent of students have IEPs and the school provides ELL support, signaling a population with significant language and learning needs. With 258 students total and class sizes averaging 22, the community mirrors the surrounding neighborhood — most families walking through the door share the same heritage and many of the same household circumstances.

Northern Washington Heights is a working- and middle-class neighborhood where median household income sits around $77,000 and homeownership is low at 17.5%, meaning most families rent. About 41.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and roughly 13% of households include children under 18. The poverty rate of 14% sits below the citywide figure. Median home values around $575,000 reflect a market that has tightened considerably but remains more accessible than much of Manhattan.

Three subway options sit within walking distance — the 1 train at Dyckman St (about a 5-minute walk) and the A train at either 190 St (about 6 minutes) or Dyckman St (about 7 minutes) — making the commute manageable from multiple directions.