Pelham Academy of Academics and Community Engagement

Pelham's 2025 proficiency rates — 52% in ELA and 46.4% in math — sit below District 11 averages of roughly 57% and 56%, respectively. But the trajectory is genuinely remarkable: in 2016, only 30% of students were proficient in ELA and just 22.8% in math. Nine years later, both have grown by 20+ percentage points, with math nearly doubling. The catch is consistency — scores bounce year to year (math dipped to 33.5% in 2022, rebounded to 49.1% in 2023), and the grade-by-grade breakdown reveals a sharp cliff: 7th graders perform strongly (62% ELA, 79% math), while 8th-grade math proficiency collapses to just 19.7%. Whatever is happening in 8th-grade math is worth asking the school about directly.

The climate numbers here are striking in the right direction. Chronic absenteeism is high at 70.8% — meaning more than two-thirds of students miss 10% or more of school days — which is a real concern for academic consistency. But the survey data tells a different story: 93% of parents are satisfied, parent-teacher trust is at 97%, and teacher-reported instruction quality hits a perfect 100%. The family survey response rate of 95% is unusually high, suggesting parents are engaged and responsive. Discipline is essentially a non-issue, with a single suspension recorded over the 2023-24 year and zero in the prior two years — far below the district average. This reads as a calm, low-conflict environment where families feel heard but attendance habits need attention.

The student body is majority Hispanic (62%), with Black students at 16%, White at 13%, and Asian at 9% — a mix that mirrors Allerton's working-class, immigrant-rich character. With an economic need index of 84.6%, more than eight in ten students qualify as economically disadvantaged, and 21% have IEPs. The neighborhood's median household income of $46,623 and 24.7% poverty rate align with that picture. Despite the financial pressures, parent engagement is unusually high (95% survey response rate), which suggests this is a community that shows up even when resources are tight.

Allerton is a working-class, renter-heavy neighborhood in the Bronx — only 16% of households own their homes, and a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. Households with children make up 15.5% of the area, and about one in five adults holds a bachelor's degree. The streets feel more residential than commercial, and the families here are largely renting their way through the middle. The school sits within easy reach of three subway stops, making car-free commutes realistic for most families.

The 2 and 5 trains all serve this area — Allerton Av is about a 6-minute walk, Pelham Pkwy about 8 minutes, and Morris Park about 12 minutes.