ST ATHANASIUS SCHOOL

St Athanasius is a coeducational Roman Catholic elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade, with a philosophy rooted in Christ-centered learning and whole-child development. It carries dual accreditation from the National Catholic Educational Association and the Middle States Association, signaling both Catholic-school standards and broader academic benchmarks. The school operates as a parish-based ministry rather than an independent Catholic institution.

The student body is about 82% Hispanic, with Black students making up the next-largest group at roughly 14%, and smaller numbers of White, Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. This is a school that draws primarily from its surrounding South Bronx community rather than from a broad cross-section of the city. Parents who send their children here tend to be looking for a faith-based education rooted close to home, and the community reflects the working-class character of Hunts Point itself.

Hunts Point is a working-class stretch of the South Bronx with a median household income around $39,000 and a poverty rate near 30%, meaning many of the families at St Athanasius are getting real value from a Catholic school that costs far less than many of its Manhattan counterparts. The neighborhood has one of the lower shares of college-educated adults in the city at about 13%, which makes the school's extended-day and after-school offerings especially meaningful for working parents. Southern Boulevard is a busy commercial corridor, and the area has the lived-in feel of a place where institutions like a parish school are genuinely part of daily life.

Transit access is one of the school's practical strengths: the 6 train at Longwood Avenue is about a 3-minute walk, and the 2/5 at Intervale Avenue and the 6 at Hunts Point Avenue are each about 8 minutes on foot.