P.S. 204 Morris Heights

P.S. 204's 70.3% ELA proficiency and 75.8% math proficiency sit well above the district averages of roughly 45% in each subject, and the school earned an overall rating of 2.92 out of 4 — clearly above the district's 1.79. The trajectory is the more striking story: from 2016 to 2025, math proficiency climbed from 42% to 76% and ELA from 41% to 70%, with a familiar post-pandemic dip in 2022 followed by sharp rebounds in 2024 and 2025. Results are consistent across tested grades, with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders all in the 64-80% proficient range in both subjects.

Day-to-day, this is a calm building with very strong relationships: parent satisfaction is 98%, teacher trust in the principal is 98%, and teacher-reported safety is 90% — all noticeably above district norms. The school has logged zero suspensions for three consecutive years, which is uncommon and worth weighing seriously. The honest tension is chronic absenteeism at 67.5% — meaning two-thirds of students miss enough school to count as chronically absent — even though the daily attendance rate of 91.1% is solid. That gap suggests a small group of families with very high absence totals is pulling up the chronic number; the day-to-day classroom experience is still well-attended and well-trusted.

The student body is 543 students across PK-5 and SE, with about 72% Hispanic, 24% Black, and very small shares of other groups — closely mirroring the neighborhood around it. The economic need index of 90.6% means most students are from low-income households, and 23% are classified as IEP — a meaningful share, meaning classroom life includes a range of learners and supports. The community is best described as predominantly Black and Latino, multigenerational, and working-class, with families who rely on this zoned school as their local option.

Morris Heights is a stretch of the Bronx where median household income is around $32,000, the poverty rate is over 37%, and just 6.5% of households own their homes — a renter-dense, working-class community. Only about 15% of neighborhood adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 14% of households include children, reflecting a population that's largely adults without school-age kids living nearby. Families here are getting around on a mix of subways that run right through the neighborhood.

Three subway options sit within roughly an 8-minute walk: the 4 train at 176 St (about 4 minutes) and Mt Eden Av (about 7 minutes), plus the B and D at 174-175 Sts (about 8 minutes).