At a Glance
A Bronx special education school (PK–12) where parent trust runs exceptionally high and discipline concerns are essentially nonexistent.
Best suited for
Families whose child has an IEP and is seeking a stable, long-term placement through age 21 where parent voice is taken seriously, and who can navigate a less transit-convenient location.
What stands out
- 100% of students have IEPs — this is a District 75 specialized school, not a zoned neighborhood elementary
- Zero suspensions reported during the survey period
- 98% parent-teacher trust and 97% parent-principal trust — among the highest in the dataset
- Serves the full PK–12 age range in one building, allowing students to stay through graduation in a familiar setting
- Class size of 22.9 matches the district average even within a specialized setting
Things to consider
- Subway access requires a 15–19 minute walk, making this school car-, yellow-bus-, or local-bus-dependent for most families
- Teacher-reported instruction quality at 68% lags significantly behind the district average of 91% — worth asking school leadership what that reflects
- This is not a zoned school; admission requires an IEP and a District 75 placement through the central intake process
- The neighborhood's deep poverty shapes the resources and outside partnerships the school can draw on
- Despite the 533-student enrollment, the school spans 14 grades, which can mean fewer age-peers at each level
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 10
District 10 spans a wide range of school quality, with peers scoring from 62 to 92 on the district's scale; P.S. X188 sits within the District 75 network that operates alongside — but separately from — the general-education peer set, so direct comparisons to schools like P.S. 24 or P.S. 81 are not apples-to-apples.
Academics
Standardized proficiency data isn't reported for this school in the data provided, which is common for specialized settings where state assessments don't always capture student growth in the same way. What's notable is that the school holds an Economic Need Index of 93.5 — among the highest — while still maintaining strong family engagement and zero suspensions, suggesting resources are being directed where they matter most for this population.
Culture
The day-to-day feel here is remarkably calm: zero suspensions over the reporting period is exceptional, and teacher-reported safety sits at 88%, slightly above the district average of 87%. Parents give the school extraordinary marks — 98% trust teachers, 97% trust the principal, 100% report strong relationships — which is a striking gap from the teacher side, where only 68% rate instruction quality as strong (well below the 91% district average) and 80% trust the principal. That asymmetry is worth noting: families feel embraced, but teachers may feel stretched.
Community
The student body is 59% Hispanic, 35% Black, and 2% White, with 100% of students having IEPs — a population that reflects both the Belmont neighborhood's demographics and the school's specialized mission. Economic need is at 93.5%, meaning nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and the surrounding neighborhood shows a parallel profile with a 37.7% poverty rate and a median household income around $33,000.
Neighborhood
Belmont is a working-class, predominantly renter neighborhood in the central Bronx where fewer than 4% of households own their homes and the typical family earns roughly $33,000 a year. Only about 11% of households have children at home, and just 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — this is a community shaped more by long-standing residents than by newcomers with young kids. Getting around relies on the 2 and 5 trains, none of which are particularly close to the school.
The nearest subway is West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue on the 2 and 5 lines, about a 15-minute walk; E 180th Street (2/5) is roughly 16 minutes on foot, and 174th Street (2/5) about 19 minutes — so most families will arrive by school bus, car service, or local bus rather than the subway.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 150 families responded (31% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
P.S. X188 is a District 75 school, part of the city's network of programs for students with significant disabilities. There's no application to file: a child is placed here when their IEP recommends a District 75 setting.
- 1Talk with your child's IEP team about the setting the IEP recommends.
- 2If it recommends a District 75 program, the DOE offers the seat — ask the team which programs they're considering and visit them.
District 75 is the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. In the DOE's words, it provides “highly specialized instructional support” for students with challenges such as autism, significant cognitive delays, emotional disabilities, sensory impairments and multiple disabilities.
Its classes run in schools where every student has an IEP, as special classes inside District 1–32 schools, in general education classrooms, and in agencies, hospitals and at home. The IEP team, which includes you, recommends the program and class size.
From NYC Public Schools' District 75 page, read October 17, 2026.
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From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is P.S. X188 a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for P.S. X188 yet on Motley. It's a public school serving grades Pre-K to 12 in Belmont.
- What grades does P.S. X188 serve?
- P.S. X188 serves grades Pre-K to 12.
- How do students get into P.S. X188?
- P.S. X188 is a District 75 school, part of the city's citywide district for students with significant disabilities. There's no application: a child is placed here when their IEP team recommends a District 75 setting.
- Is P.S. X188 public, charter, or private?
- P.S. X188 is a public school in District 75, the city's citywide special education district.
- What neighborhood is P.S. X188 in?
- P.S. X188 is in Belmont, Bronx.