At a Glance
A Crotona Park East elementary where parent confidence is the headline and math scores have nearly doubled over the past decade.
Best suited for
Families rooted in Crotona Park East who want a small, community-anchored school with high family engagement and are prepared to prioritize daily attendance to support their child's progress.
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 nearly doubled since 2016, climbing from 14.1% to 25.9% — a rare sustained improvement.
- 99% parent-principal trust and 97% parent satisfaction suggest families genuinely feel heard here.
- Zero suspensions last year points to a calm, restorative school climate.
- 20% of students have IEPs, meaning the school serves a meaningful share of students with disabilities.
- Teacher-rated instruction quality at 97% is well above the district's 88%.
Things to consider
- Both ELA (25.5%) and math (25.9%) sit well below district averages — students are catching up, not leading.
- Chronic absenteeism at 57.4% is high, especially among Black students (68.1%) and girls (62%).
- Teacher-principal trust (82%) and teacher-reported safety (80%) lag other climate indicators.
- PTA fundraising at just $1 per student is far below the district's $53 average — limited supplemental resources.
- An economic need index of 91.9% means most families are navigating serious financial stress.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 12
Within District 12, P.S. 134 sits below several stronger peers — South Bronx Classical (96/100), Bold (88/100), and P.S. 066 (82/100) all outscore it. But its improving math trend and exceptional parent satisfaction mark it as a school on the move rather than one stuck in place.
Academics
At 25.5% ELA and 25.9% math proficiency, this school sits well below District 12 averages of 44.6% and 43.3% — students here are catching up, not leading. But the trajectory matters: math proficiency has nearly doubled since 2016 (14.1% → 25.9%), and the jump from 22.1% to 25.9% in just one year suggests recent momentum. ELA has crept up more modestly, with some year-to-year wobble. The overall 1.03/4 score is below the district's 1.76, but the direction is clearly upward.
Culture
The family-facing numbers here are unusually strong: 97% parent satisfaction, 99% trust in the principal, and 96% say there are strong relationships — all well above district norms. Teachers rate instruction quality at 97% too. But the staff-side picture is more complicated: teacher-principal trust sits at 82%, teacher-reported safety at 80% (below the district's 84.6%), and chronic absenteeism at 57.4% is high, with Black students (68.1%) and girls (62%) most affected. On the upside, zero suspensions last year points to a calm, restorative school culture.
Community
Of 443 students, 53% are Hispanic and 42% are Black, with the remaining 5% spread across Asian, White, multi-racial, and Native American students — a student body that mirrors the surrounding Crotona Park East community. The economic need index of 91.9% means nearly nine in ten students come from low-income households, well above city norms. About one in five students has an IEP, reflecting a meaningful share of students with disabilities. The neighborhood around the school is largely working-class: median income around $41,000, a 28.5% poverty rate, and just 9.6% homeownership.
Neighborhood
Crotona Park East is a working-class, predominantly renter neighborhood in the South Bronx where most adults did not earn a four-year degree (only 14.7% have a BA+) and household incomes sit in the low-$40,000s. Roughly 15% of households include children, and only about one in ten homes is owner-occupied. The neighborhood is solidly residential and family-rooted, even as financial pressures run high.
The 2/5 trains at Freeman Street are about a 4-minute walk, with Simpson St and 174 St on the same lines about 11 minutes away.
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 (45% rate)
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
Pre-K
P.S. 134 George F. Bristow 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. 134 George F. Bristow 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. 134 George F. Bristow a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 134 George F. Bristow earns an overall rating of 26/100 — 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 12 average.
- What grades does P.S. 134 George F. Bristow serve?
- P.S. 134 George F. Bristow serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 134 George F. Bristow?
- P.S. 134 George F. Bristow admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 134 George F. Bristow public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 134 George F. Bristow is a public school in NYC Community School District 12.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 134 George F. Bristow in?
- P.S. 134 George F. Bristow is in Crotona Park East, Bronx.