PS/MS 20 P.O.George J. Werdann, III

PS/MS 20's proficiency rates of 40.5% in ELA and 39.8% in math still sit a bit under the District 10 averages of 45% and 43.5%, but the trajectory tells the real story. In 2016, ELA proficiency was 21.6% and math was 16.7% — so the school has nearly doubled both in less than a decade, with a particularly steep jump in the most recent year. Science proficiency at 21.6% is the weak spot, well below where the school needs to be. Looking by grade, 7th grade ELA leads at 47.8%, while 5th grade math at 25% is the lowest — worth watching if you have a child in that cohort.

The day-to-day feel here is defined by an unusual split: families clearly love this school, while the adults inside it are more guarded. Parent-teacher trust sits at 93%, parent-principal trust at 94%, and 100% of families report strong relationships with school staff — yet teacher-principal trust is just 81% and teacher collegial trust only 77%. Attendance at 88.9% is a touch below the district average and chronic absenteeism at 56.9% is high, meaning more than half of students miss 10% or more of the school year. Discipline is light — just 4 suspensions last year, a stable trend — and teacher-reported safety at 89% is above the district average, suggesting the building feels orderly even if some staff dynamics could be smoother.

The student body mirrors its Norwood surroundings closely: 74% Hispanic, 12% Black, 7% Asian, 5% White, and 2% Native American, with an economic need index of 90.8% — meaning the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. About a quarter of students have IEPs and the school runs ELL support, reflecting a community where many families are multilingual and working-class. The neighborhood around the school has a median household income of $47,299, a poverty rate of 26.8%, and only 18.3% of households include children — so the families sending kids here are a meaningful share of the area's kids, not the whole picture.

Norwood is a densely built, predominantly renter neighborhood of the central Bronx where homeownership sits below 5% and the median home value is around $460,000 — a sign of modest housing stock rather than gentrification. About a quarter of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the median household income hovers just under $50,000, and roughly one in four residents lives below the poverty line. Schools like PS/MS 20 are part of the neighborhood's backbone, drawing families from the surrounding blocks. The area is reachable by subway but not right at a stop, so most families walk or rely on buses for the daily commute.

The school is about an 8-minute walk from the Norwood-205 St station on the D line, an 11-minute walk from Bedford Park Blvd on the B and D lines, and a 13-minute walk from Burke Av on the 2 and 5 lines.