South Bronx International Middle School

This school has undergone a dramatic academic turnaround. Two years ago, only 15% of students were meeting state standards in math — now it's 50%, surpassing the district average of 44.7%. ELA improved from 10.7% to 28.2%, still below the 44.8% district average but trending upward. The grades tell a clear story: 8th graders are excelling in math (58.2% proficiency), while 6th graders are still building foundations (30.3%). This suggests the school's improvements are taking hold but haven't yet fully filtered to the youngest cohort. The 1.56 overall score is below the district average of 1.79, but the trajectory is unmistakable — this is a school on the rise.

The numbers here tell two different stories, and both matter. On the surface, chronic absenteeism at 87.5% sounds alarming — but the actual daily attendance rate is 95.1%, well above the 90% district average, meaning kids are showing up when they're present. The real headline is trust: 95% of parents are satisfied, 97% trust teachers, and 98% trust the principal. Teachers give their own instruction a perfect 100% rating. That said, teachers report lower trust in leadership (68%) and each other (69%), which could signal tension between staff and administration that parents don't feel. Discipline is nearly nonexistent — just one suspension last year — and the trend has been stable for three years. This is a school where kids aren't getting kicked out, parents feel heard, and learning happens.

Nearly all students are children of color — 84% Hispanic, 15% Black — reflecting the Concourse neighborhood's demographics. With an economic need index of 92.3%, virtually every family qualifies for free or reduced lunch. One in six students has an IEP. This is a high-need population being served by a small school of just 144 students, which means more individualized attention. The diversity index is low (26%) because the community is predominantly Hispanic, but that's also the neighborhood's fabric.

Concourse is a dense, transit-rich Bronx neighborhood where families outnumber homeowners nearly 10-to-one. Median household income is just $40,255 — less than half the citywide median — and only 15.8% of residents have bachelor's degrees. Safety scores are among the lowest in the city (2.68/100), reflecting the challenges of a neighborhood with high poverty and limited resources. What Concourse does offer is strong transit connectivity (67th percentile) and a tight-knit community feel. Families here are raising kids in an area that hasn't historically had many educational options, which makes a screened school with 95% parent satisfaction feel like a real find.

The neighborhood is densely populated and walkable, with good transit access — many families arrive on foot or via bus rather than driving, which is typical for the area's low car-ownership rate