P.S. 236 Langston Hughes

The school's 41.2% ELA and 35.8% math proficiency both sit below District 9's averages of about 45% each — meaning students are performing a step behind their district peers. Historically, the school made real gains between 2016 and 2022, nearly doubling ELA from 20.5% to 42.5%, but the trajectory has wobbled since, with a dip in 2023 followed by a recovery in 2025. Grade 5 stands out with 53.1% ELA proficiency, showing what's possible as students move through the building, though their math scores (36.7%) don't keep pace. The overall 1.54/4 score reflects a school that's trying but not yet meeting district benchmarks.

This is where the school shines in a way that doesn't show up on test scores. Parent satisfaction sits at 95%, parent-teacher trust at 97%, and parent-principal trust at an extraordinary 98%. Teachers report 93% trust in leadership and 96% trust in each other — those are numbers you rarely see. Every single family surveyed reported strong relationships with the school. The trade-off: chronic absenteeism is 65.5%, with females (71.7%) and Black students (70.3%) particularly affected. Teacher-reported safety (82%) and instruction quality (82%) are both slightly below district averages, which may reflect the challenges of high-need environments. And notably, there have been zero suspensions for three straight years — discipline here is handled differently, and it shows in the trust numbers.

P.S. 236 is a predominantly Hispanic school (76%) with a substantial Black student population (22%), reflecting the demographics of Mount Hope. Nearly all students (91.9%) come from economically disadvantaged households, and 27% have IEPs — a higher-than-average special education population. With only 232 students across all grades, this is a small school where most kids know each other. The diversity index of 36% is low, but that's typical for this pocket of the Bronx, and what matters more is that families from these neighborhoods feel genuinely welcomed here.

Mount Hope is a classic Bronx neighborhood — dense, working-class, and very family-focused (it scores 99.23 on family density). Transit is excellent (85.44) thanks to the nearby Fordham Road hub, making car-free commutes easy. But the area has real challenges: safety scores are low (0.38), the poverty rate is 31.4%, and only 15% of residents have a college degree. Homeownership is nearly nonexistent at 3.9%, meaning most families rent. There's a lead exposure concern (elevated rate of 15.2%) and high asthma rates (75.5 ER visits per 1,000) — environmental health issues that parents in this neighborhood deal with. What the neighborhood lacks in affluence it makes up for in community infrastructure and connection.

Very walkable — Mount Hope is a pedestrian-dense neighborhood, and the school is accessible from Walton Avenue without major barriers. Families from the surrounding blocks walk their kids in, and the strong transit score means many parents commute without cars.