At a Glance
A small South Bronx elementary where test scores have nearly tripled in a decade, fueled by family trust and zero suspensions
Best suited for
Families in Mott Haven and the surrounding South Bronx who want a small, relationship-driven elementary with strong academics and a no-suspension culture, and who can commit to consistent daily attendance.
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
- Reading and math proficiency have more than doubled since 2016 — a turnaround most schools only dream of
- Zero suspensions for three consecutive years, against a district suspension rate of 0.84%
- Perfect score on the parent survey's "strong teacher-family relationships" question (100%)
- Math and ELA proficiency both roughly 16-18 percentage points above district averages
- Small, neighborhood-scale school of 265 students where teachers and families clearly know each other
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism is high at 75.9%, and notably worse for Hispanic students (82.6%) — daily attendance is the biggest academic risk factor here
- Teacher-reported safety (77%) runs a bit below the district average, worth asking about at a tour
- PTA raises only about $8 per student annually, well below the district's $9.62 average — fundraising muscle and parent programming are limited
- Small school with just 265 students means narrower enrichment, fewer peers, and limited elective breadth
- The surrounding neighborhood has high poverty (40.1%) and very low homeownership, which shapes the resources families can bring to school
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
Within District 7, P.S. 154 is a clear standout among traditional zoned public schools, with proficiency rates and an overall score well above district averages. The peer schools on top of the local list are predominantly charters; among district schools, this is among the strongest options families will find.
Academics
The trajectory here is the headline. ELA proficiency rose from 26.5% in 2016 to 67.9% in 2025, and math climbed from 24.9% to 67.1%, with a particularly steep jump in math in 2024 (68.3%). Both subjects now sit comfortably above district averages (ELA 51.3%, math 49.0%), and the school's overall score of 2.7/4 outpaces the district's 2.0. Performance is fairly even across grades 3-5, with math strongest in third grade (72.4%) and reading strongest in fifth (69.2%). The pandemic-era dip in 2022 is visible in the data, but the recovery has been strong and consistent.
Culture
Parents are exceptionally happy here: 95% satisfaction, parent-teacher trust at 97%, and a perfect 100% of respondents reporting strong teacher-family relationships. Teachers give the principal a 92% trust rating and rate instructional quality at 92% (above the 88.4% district average). Discipline is a clear strength with zero suspensions in each of the last three years, well below the district's 0.84% rate. Two things parents should know: chronic absenteeism sits at 75.9% (with Hispanic students at 82.6%), and teacher-reported safety is 77%, a touch below the district's 80.5%.
Community
The 265 students are overwhelmingly Hispanic (55%) and Black (43%), a near mirror of the surrounding Mott Haven-Port Morris neighborhood where median household income is around $29,000 and roughly 40% of residents live below the poverty line. About one in five students has an Individualized Education Program (22%), reflecting real special education capacity rather than a token inclusion program. Class size averages 20.5, right at the district norm, so it's the kind of place where kids likely know their teachers by name.
Neighborhood
Mott Haven-Port Morris is a working-class, transit-rich pocket of the South Bronx. Homeownership is rare here (6.1%), only about 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, and just 12.2% of households have children under 18 — so the families who do live here are committing to the neighborhood, and to schools like P.S. 154, by choice.
The 6 train at 3 Av-138 St is about a 4-minute walk; the Brook Av stop on the 6 is around 7 minutes; and the 138 St-Grand Concourse station on the 4 and 5 trains is roughly 9 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
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) · 77 families responded (37% 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. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt 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
District 7 is a school-choice district, so it has no elementary zones: no address guarantees a seat at P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt. Families across the district apply on MySchools, and seats go to priority groups first (siblings, then families in the school's area — District 7 is split into a north and a south area), then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank every school you'd accept, in true preference order — with no zoned seat to fall back on, a longer list matters.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Compare head-to-head
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt earns an overall rating of 68/100 — 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 above the District 7 average.
- What grades does P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt serve?
- P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt?
- P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt is a public school in NYC Community School District 7.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt in?
- P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt is in Mott Haven-Port Morris, Bronx.