At a Glance
A small zoned Bronx elementary where parent trust runs deep and test scores have tripled in a decade
Best suited for
Families living in the zone who want a small, trusted neighborhood school where their children will be known by name and want to be part of a stable community — and who are willing to trade higher charter-school test scores for that continuity.
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
- ELA proficiency has more than tripled since 2016, from 10.5% to 36.3%, showing sustained academic improvement
- Zero suspensions in 2023-24 and 2022-23 — a genuinely discipline-light culture in a high-need setting
- 97% parent-principal trust and 100% strong-relationships rating — families feel genuinely heard
- 5th-grade ELA hits 47.7%, suggesting real proficiency gains as students move through the school
- A 97% Black and Hispanic student body in a neighborhood where almost every family qualifies as high economic need
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 42.6% is a serious headwind — nearly half of students are missing enough school to affect learning
- Both ELA (36.3%) and math (28.9%) proficiency sit below the District 9 averages
- Subway access is a 12-to-16-minute walk from any line, which makes the commute tougher in winter
- District 9 is home to several high-scoring charter schools (Icahn, Success Academy), so families have alternatives if test scores are the priority
- The surrounding neighborhood's economic distress and low homeownership rate mean families lean heavily on the school as a stable anchor
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 9
P.S. 132 sits well below District 9's high-flying charter options — Icahn Charter 1 and Success Academy Bronx 2 both post scores in the 97-99 range — but it offers something different: a traditional zoned school with deep parent engagement and a multi-year upward trajectory rather than a charter-style results profile.
Academics
ELA proficiency of 36.3% and math of 28.9% both sit below the District 9 averages of roughly 45% and 45%, respectively — students here are catching up, not leading. The trajectory, however, is genuinely upward: ELA has more than tripled since 2016, and 2025's 36.3% marked a sharp rebound from 19.2% the year prior. The 5th-grade cohort hit 47.7% in ELA, suggesting the school is building real proficiency by the upper grades even if the bottom line lags the district.
Culture
Parents clearly love this school — 94% satisfaction, 97% trust in the principal, and 100% report strong relationships with teachers, all despite below-average test scores. The flip side is attendance: 85.5% attendance and a 42.6% chronic absenteeism rate mean many students miss enough school to genuinely affect learning. Discipline is essentially a non-issue, with zero suspensions in 2023-24 and the prior year, and teacher-reported safety at 85% edges out the district average. The day-to-day feel is warm and trusted, but the attendance gap is a real headwind.
Community
The student body is 49% Black and 48% Hispanic, with 24% of students having IEPs and an economic need index of 94.8% — almost every family here qualifies as high-need. The school mirrors its neighborhood: a community where median income is roughly $30,000, only 2.7% of households own their homes, and just 11.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. It is, in practical terms, a school serving two demographic groups almost exclusively, in one of the poorer corners of the Bronx.
Neighborhood
Claremont Village-Claremont (East) is a predominantly renter neighborhood in the central Bronx, where most blocks are walk-ups and very few families own their homes. The census tells a story of economic pressure — median household income near $30,475, a 44.1% poverty rate, and only 10% of households including children, suggesting a lot of single-adult and senior households mixed in with families. The community is dense and working-class, and the schools in this zone tend to be the backbone of family life here.
The nearest options are the 170 St (B D) and 167 St (B D) stations, each about a 12–13 minute walk, with the 170 St (4) stop roughly 16 minutes on foot — plan for a real walk or a bus-to-subway combo on bad-weather days.
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
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) · 191 families responded (55% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan 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.
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. 132 Garret A. Morgan a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan earns an overall rating of 33/100 — 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 below the District 9 average.
- What grades does P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan serve?
- P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan?
- P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan is a public school in NYC Community School District 9.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan in?
- P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan is in Claremont Village-Claremont (East), Bronx.