P.S. 583

The 2025 numbers are a real leap forward: ELA proficiency jumped from 38.3% to 63.8% and math from 52% to 68.3%, both well above the District 8 averages of 46% and 48%. ELA has been volatile across the four-year window (43% → 48% → 38% → 64%), but math has trended more steadily upward. Grade 3 leads the building with 74.5% ELA and 71.4% math proficiency, while Grade 4 trails in ELA at 53%.

The day-to-day feel here is unusually warm: 100% of teachers report strong relationships and quality instruction, and 98% say they feel safe at school. Parents echo that with 99% trust in both teachers and the principal. Daily attendance at 91.7% is solid and above the district's 89.4%, though chronic absenteeism at nearly 67% is a real flag — many students are still missing too many days. Zero suspensions over three straight years signals a restorative rather than punitive culture.

The student body is 46% Hispanic and 39% Asian, with smaller Black, White, and multiracial shares, and a diversity index of 65%. With an 84% economic need index, most students come from low-income households, and 16% have IEPs — close to the citywide rate. The school mirrors its Castle Hill-Unionport surroundings, where the median household income sits around $53,500 and roughly one in four residents lives below the poverty line.

Castle Hill-Unionport is a working-class east Bronx neighborhood where most residents rent rather than own, with homeownership at 34% and a median home value around $591,000. Just under 14% of households have children under 18, so the area skews more toward adult households than young families, and about 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Families who live here tend to rely on the 6 train and bus connections to get around.

Three 6 train stops serve the school: Parkchester is about a 9-minute walk, St Lawrence Avenue about 11 minutes, and Castle Hill Avenue about 14 minutes.