P.S. 072 Dr. William Dorney

Both ELA (47.8%) and math (50.6%) proficiency landed slightly above the district averages of 46.2% and 48.0% — modest leads, but meaningful ones for a zoned school in the Bronx. The 2025 numbers are striking: ELA jumped 14 points and math jumped 12 points over 2024, marking the school's strongest year on record and continuing an uneven but generally upward trajectory since 2016 (when proficiency was in the 20s). The biggest strength is in grade 3, where math proficiency hits 65.9% and ELA hits 54.3% — well above the schoolwide averages. Scores taper in grades 4 and 5, which is something parents of older elementary kids should ask about.

The day-to-day feel here is parent-engaged and orderly. Teacher-reported safety sits at 98% — far above the district's 88.9% — and suspensions are rare at 1% of students. Parents feel heard: 95% are satisfied, with 97% reporting strong parent-teacher relationships and 94% trusting the principal. The flip side is a chronic absenteeism rate of 55.2%, meaning more than half of students missed enough school to be flagged — well above typical thresholds, and a real obstacle to academic gains. Teacher-side data shows more tension: only 78% trust the principal and 80% rate instruction quality positively, both below district averages, suggesting staff-leader alignment is a work in progress even as families give the school high marks.

The student body is 67% Hispanic, 20% Black, with smaller Asian and White populations — reflecting the demographics of the surrounding neighborhood, where median household income is around $85,113 and about 15% of residents live below the poverty line. The school's economic need index of 76.8% means more than three-quarters of students qualify as economically disadvantaged, and 26% of students have IEPs — one of the higher inclusion rates you'll see in the district. Despite those demographics, parent fundraising tells a different story: at roughly $66 per student, families here contribute nearly four times the district average, a sign of real organizational muscle behind the scenes.

Throgs Neck-Schuylerville is a stable, middle-income corner of the Bronx with a homeownership rate near 48% and a median home value around $581,000, which is on the higher end for the borough. About 18% of households have children under 18, and a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — a solidly working- and middle-class profile. The neighborhood skews toward longer-term residents and homeowners rather than renters, which often correlates with the kind of PTA muscle this school clearly has.

The school sits beyond a 20-minute walk of any subway station, so most families rely on cars, school buses, or local bus routes to get here.