P.S. 008 Luis Belliard

Both subjects sit well below district averages — ELA proficiency of 30.5% versus a District 6 average of 47%, and math at 35.2% versus 52%. The trajectory tells a more complicated story: scores climbed steadily from 2016 to 2019 (ELA went from 12.7% to 30%, math from 15.3% to 46.3%), crashed during the pandemic years of 2022, and have been clawing back since. ELA has now returned to its 2019 peak, but math has slipped from a 2024 high of 42% back down to 35.2% in 2025, suggesting the recovery in math isn't yet stable.

The day-to-day feel here is genuinely warm — 99% parent satisfaction and parent-teacher trust, 100% teacher-reported safety, and zero suspensions for three straight years are all striking. Teachers rate instruction quality at 100%, well above the district's 90%. The big asterisk is chronic absenteeism: nearly 60% of students miss 10% or more of school days, even though families clearly feel connected. Attendance at 88.8% sits below the district's 91%. One small caveat: only 10 teachers completed the survey, so the staff-side numbers reflect a thin sample.

Almost every student here is Hispanic (93%), with a small Black (4%) and White (3%) presence, and a diversity index of just 16% — one of the least heterogeneous student bodies in the city. Nearly a quarter of students have IEPs, and the economic need index of 87.4 confirms what the demographics suggest: this is a school serving a predominantly low-income, Dominican-rooted community that closely matches the surrounding neighborhood.

Washington Heights' southern section is a dense, renter-dominated neighborhood with a median household income around $55,800 and a poverty rate of 22%. Only about 9% of households here have children under 18, and just 8% own their homes — meaning most families are renting, often in multi-family buildings. A third of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher. It's a transit-rich, walkable part of upper Manhattan shaped by working-class immigrant roots.

Subway access is a real strength here — the 168 St A/C stop is about a 4-minute walk, 168 St-Washington Hts on the 1 line is about 5 minutes, and 163 St-Amsterdam Av on the C is roughly 6 minutes away.