P.S. 132 Garret A. Morgan

Test scores at P.S. 132 show genuine improvement from a very low baseline — ELA climbed from 10.5% in 2016 to 36.3% in 2025, and math from 5.7% to 28.9%, representing roughly a tripling of performance. However, the school remains significantly below the District 9 averages of 44.8% in ELA and 44.7% in math, and the overall quality score of 1.3/4 trails the district average of 1.79. Grade 5 performs notably stronger (47.7% ELA), suggesting older students may be benefiting from sustained interventions, while Grade 3 trails at 26.5% ELA. The school is catching up but not yet competitive with district peers.

The survey data tells a story of a school where relationships work: 97% of parents trust teachers and the principal, 94% are satisfied, and a remarkable 100% report strong relationships. Teachers report 85% safety and 82% trust in leadership — solid, though both slightly below district teacher averages. The challenge is attendance: at 85.5% it's well below the district's 90.1%, and chronic absenteeism at 42.6% is a serious concern that undermines academic progress. On the positive side, discipline has improved dramatically — from 1 suspension in 2021-22 to zero for the past two years, indicating the school has moved toward restorative practices.

The student body is predominantly Black (49%) and Hispanic (48%) with near-equal representation, reflecting the neighborhood's demographics. Nearly a quarter of students (24%) have IEPs, and virtually all students (94.8%) qualify for free lunch — indicating extreme economic need. With a diversity index of 46%, the school is fairly homogenous demographically but serves a community where family structures and needs vary significantly.

The school sits in Claremont Village-Claremont East, a high-poverty Bronx neighborhood with a median household income of just $30,475 and a 44.1% poverty rate. Only 11.4% of residents have bachelor's degrees. Transit access is strong (75th percentile), making the area commutable, but safety scores are very low (11th percentile), and the neighborhood faces environmental health challenges including elevated lead rates and high asthma emergency department visit rates. There are few family-oriented amenities in immediate vicinity, and homeownership is nearly nonexistent at 2.7%.

The neighborhood is walkable but families should anticipate using public transit — the area has strong transit scores and many families walk or take buses. However, the low safety percentile suggests evening and early morning travel warrants attention.