P.S. 236 Langston Hughes

ELA proficiency at 41.2% is about 3.5 points below the District 9 average of 44.8%, and math at 35.8% lags further behind (district 44.7%). The longer story is dramatic progress — in 2016, both subjects hovered around 20% — but the last four years have been a rollercoaster, peaking in 2022 at 42.5% in both subjects, dipping in 2023–24, and recovering unevenly in 2025. Grade 5 ELA (53.1%) is a clear bright spot; Grade 4 math (28.9%) is the weakest cell.

The day-to-day feels warm and orderly. Zero suspensions over three straight years is rare and signals a school that leans on relationships rather than removal. Parents give the school glowing marks on trust (97–98%) and relationships (100%), and 97% of families responded to the survey — engagement is real. Two things parents should know: chronic absenteeism runs high at 65.5% (meaning roughly two of every three students miss 10%+ of the school year), and only 82% of teachers rate instruction quality positively, below the district's 90%. The 91.1% overall attendance rate is healthy, but the chronic-absentee figure hints at bigger outside-of-school pressures.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (76%) and Black (22%), with a 36% diversity index — most classrooms look like the neighborhood. The economic need index of 91.9 (out of 100) means nearly all students qualify for free lunch and come from households facing real financial pressure, mirroring Mount Hope's 31.4% poverty rate and $41,487 median income. About 27% of students have IEPs, well above city norms, so classrooms include a meaningful share of kids receiving special education services.

Mount Hope is a working-class, densely residential pocket of the central Bronx where only 3.9% of households own their homes — almost everyone rents. Median income sits around $41,487 and about one in three residents lives below the poverty line, yet the area is family-rooted: 13.1% of households have children, and the subway connections make it easy to reach family across the borough.

Transit access is a real strength: 176 St on the 4 line is about a 3-minute walk, 174-175 Sts on the B and D is about 5 minutes, and Tremont Av on the B and D is about 6 minutes.