Science and Technology Academy: A Mott Hall School

Math is the headline here: 67.5% proficiency is well above the District 9 average of about 45%, a striking gap for a public unscreened middle school. ELA at 50.5% also beats the district average of roughly 45%, though more modestly. The school's trajectory is one of the most encouraging in the area — ELA climbed from 33% in 2016 to over 50% today, and math more than doubled from 32.8% to 67.5%. Scores by grade show a familiar pattern: 6th graders arrive still building skills (34.9% ELA, 52.3% math), while 7th and 8th graders perform substantially stronger, suggesting the school gets a lot of mileage out of its later middle-school years. The overall quality score of 2.36 out of 4 sits comfortably above the district average of 1.79.

The climate numbers here are remarkable for a school serving a high-poverty population. Parent satisfaction is 94% — exactly at the district average — but the trust metrics are where this school shines: 96% parent-teacher trust, 96% parent-principal trust, and 97% of teachers rate instruction quality positively (well above the district average of 90%). Teachers report very high collegial trust at 95%. Discipline is essentially a non-issue: zero suspensions in the most recent year and only one in the prior two years combined. The one significant concern is chronic absenteeism at 63.7%, which is high even in a post-pandemic context — though attendance rate itself is 90.3%, right at the district average, meaning most kids who show up are there consistently.

The student body is 70% Hispanic and 24% Black, with small percentages of Asian, White, and multi-racial students — a makeup that closely mirrors the surrounding Concourse neighborhood, where most residents are working-class families of color. The economic need index of 90.5% means nine in ten students come from low-income households, consistent with the neighborhood's 34% poverty rate and $40,255 median household income. Notably, 25% of students have IEPs, a higher share than many schools, reflecting a commitment to including students with a wide range of learning needs. The diversity index sits at 46%, indicating meaningful but not overwhelming variation in the student population.

Concourse-Concourse Village is a dense, renter-heavy part of the South Bronx where most households include children and median incomes sit well below the city average. Homeownership is just 11.1%, reflecting a neighborhood of largely apartment-dwelling families, and only about 16% of adult residents hold a bachelor's degree. The area sits near Yankee Stadium, and the surrounding blocks carry a mix of residential density and commercial activity typical of the central Bronx. For families considering this school, it's a neighborhood where many students live within walking distance and where the daily rhythms are shaped by working-class immigrant and multi-generational households.

The school is reachable by the B and D lines at 167 St or 161 St-Yankee Stadium, and the 4 train also stops at 161 St-Yankee Stadium — each about a nine-minute walk from the building.