At a Glance
A sprawling K-8 neighborhood school in Morris Park offering everything from robotics to orchestra, with a math trajectory quietly outpacing the district.
Best suited for
Families in or near Morris Park who want a one-stop K-8 with abundant program choices and are comfortable with a large, non-selective environment.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Math proficiency has climbed roughly 23 percentage points since 2016, one of the steeper upward arcs in District 11.
- A 100/100 program-richness score means students can move from Lego Robotics to Cooking to Step Team without leaving the building.
- A full instrumental music program — band, orchestra, strings, and guitar — that's uncommon at this grade level.
- Built-in Specialized High School Test Preparation for eighth graders aiming at the SHSAT.
- Restorative Circles and Peer Mediation signal a relationship-based approach to behavior rather than a punitive one.
Things to consider
- With 1,624 students, this is a very big school — average class size is nearly 24 and the social experience won't suit every child.
- Science proficiency at 34.4% lags meaningfully behind ELA and math.
- PTA fundraising is just $3 per student, far below the district average of $24, so enrichment depends entirely on the public budget.
- Chronic absenteeism of 74.9% is very high and worth probing at a tour, even though daily attendance is solid.
- ELA, while improving, still sits a couple of points under the district average.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 11
P.S. 083 lands just above the District 11 average on the city progress report (2.33 vs 2.25 out of 4) and is competitive among traditional district schools, though several local charters score higher. Among non-charter peers in the area, it sits in the upper tier.
Academics
Math is the clear strength at 61.9% proficiency, well above the district average of 55.6% and up from 39.1% in 2016 — one of the steeper nine-year climbs in the area. ELA at 54.5% sits just below the district average of 56.7%, but has nearly doubled since the mid-2010s. Science proficiency at 34.4% is the weak spot and worth asking about at a tour. Grade-by-grade math results are consistently strong, hovering in the 60s and 70s from third through eighth grade.
Culture
Day-to-day, this feels like a school where adults trust each other — teacher-principal trust, parent-principal trust, and parent-teacher trust all land at 95% or higher, and teacher-reported safety is 96%. Discipline is mild: eight suspensions in 2023-24 is a 1% rate, ticking up slightly from five the prior two years but still low in absolute terms. The chronic absenteeism rate of 74.9% is high even by post-pandemic standards, though daily attendance at 93.1% actually beats the district average — both can be true, and the gap between the two is worth asking the school to explain.
Community
P.S. 083 draws a predominantly Hispanic (45%) and White (37%) student body, with a meaningful Asian population (11%) and smaller Black and multiracial contingents — a diversity index of 68%. About three-quarters of students qualify for economic need and nearly a fifth have IEPs, so the school is carrying real load with public resources. The neighborhood itself skews more middle-income than the student body, with a median household income around $75,000, suggesting the school pulls from a wider area than its immediate blocks.
Neighborhood
Morris Park is a quiet, predominantly residential pocket of the Bronx with a mix of longtime homeowners and renters, modest single-family houses, and a noticeably lower poverty rate than many Bronx neighborhoods. About 15% of households have children, a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and the typical home value sits around $669,000. Most families connect to the rest of the city via the 5 train, which runs right through the area.
The Morris Park 5 train stop is an eight-minute walk, with Bronx Park East (2, 5) about eleven minutes and Pelham Parkway (5) around fifteen minutes on foot.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 362 families responded (26% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Kindergarten
P.S. 083 Donald Hertz has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. P.S. 083 Donald Hertz admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- The Donald Hertz School (P.S. 83)Unscreened180 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 083 Donald Hertz a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 083 Donald Hertz earns an overall rating of 58/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run in line with the District 11 average.
- What grades does P.S. 083 Donald Hertz serve?
- P.S. 083 Donald Hertz serves grades K to 8.
- How do students get into P.S. 083 Donald Hertz?
- P.S. 083 Donald Hertz admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is P.S. 083 Donald Hertz public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 083 Donald Hertz is a public school in NYC Community School District 11.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 083 Donald Hertz in?
- P.S. 083 Donald Hertz is in Morris Park, Bronx.