Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders

Sheridan's academic story is one of recent momentum. ELA proficiency jumped from 18.2% in 2024 to 34% in 2025 — its highest mark on record — while math climbed from 39.2% to 44.2%, essentially matching the District 9 average of 44.7%. Looking at the longer arc, scores were climbing steadily from 2016 (14% ELA, 25% math) through 2019, dipped during the pandemic years, and have now rebounded past pre-pandemic levels. Grade 3 leads the pack at 59.6% math proficiency, while Grade 5 math (28.6%) lags — a pattern worth asking about if your child is entering upper grades. ELA proficiency (34%) still sits well below the district average of 45%, so there's real room to grow on the literacy side.

The day-to-day feel at Sheridan depends on whom you ask. Families clearly love it: 96% of parents say they're satisfied, 97% trust their child's teacher, and a perfect 100% say there are strong relationships between adults and students. Zero suspensions over three years is genuinely positive — this is an unusually calm disciplinary environment. But teacher surveys paint a much tougher picture: only 52% rate instruction quality positively (vs. 90% district-wide), and a striking 33% trust the principal. Teacher-reported safety at 63% is well below the district's 83%. Only 8 teachers responded to the survey, so read those numbers with some caution. The biggest climate issue by far is attendance: 60.7% of students are chronically absent — meaning more than half miss enough school to be flagged — even though the overall attendance rate (90.4%) looks normal. That's a number worth probing deeply.

Sheridan's student body is 67% Hispanic, 28% Black, with small Asian, White, and Native American populations — closely matching the surrounding Concourse-Concourse Village community, which is predominantly Latino and Black. The economic need index of 93.3% is very high, meaning most students come from low-income households, which lines up with the neighborhood's 34% poverty rate and median household income of around $40,000. Twenty-three percent of students have IEPs, and the school serves self-contained special education classes (the 'SE' in the grades served). About 240 families responded to the survey — solid engagement from a school of 471 students — suggesting parents are active here despite stretched resources.

Concourse-Concourse Village is a working-class Bronx neighborhood where median household income hovers around $40,000 and more than a third of residents live below the poverty line. Only about 14% of households here have children — lower than you'd expect for a family-oriented area — and just 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, so this is largely a community without college-educated parents defaulting into the school system. Homeownership is low at 11%, with most families renting. The neighborhood has deep cultural roots and a strong sense of community, and Sheridan Academy has clearly become a hub for local families who choose it.

Two nearby stations make this an easy commute: the B and D lines at 167 St are about a 3-minute walk, the 4 train at 167 St is about 7 minutes, and the 4 at 170 St is roughly 12 minutes on foot.