STEM Institute of Manhattan

Both ELA (26.5%) and math (25%) proficiency sit well below the District 3 averages of roughly 59% and 54% respectively, and the overall quality score of 1.03 out of 4 is less than half the district average. The more encouraging story is the trend line: math has risen from a deeply low 7.5% in 2016 to 25–29.6% in each of the last three years — roughly a tripling. ELA has been more volatile, dipping to 10.2% in 2022 before recovering to 26.5% in 2025, its highest mark since 2017. Grade 3 and 4 score breakdowns show math still lagging more than ELA in the tested grades.

The day-to-day feel here is defined by unusually warm parent-school relationships — parent satisfaction (92%), parent-teacher trust (95%), and parent-principal trust (97%) all run above district averages — paired with some real warning signs. The 85.5% attendance rate trails the district's 90.4%, and 43.7% of students are chronically absent, meaning nearly half are missing enough school to materially affect learning. Teacher-reported safety at 87% sits noticeably below the district's 94%, though it's worth noting that suspensions have been zero for three consecutive years and only 11 teachers responded to the survey, which limits how confidently one can read the climate numbers. PTA fundraising of just $12 per student versus the district's $627 means enrichment budgets are slim.

The student body is roughly half Black and a third Hispanic, with smaller White, Asian, and multiracial shares — a diversity index of 66%. The economic need index of 83.9% indicates a population with significant economic disadvantage, and 29% of students have IEPs. Interestingly, the surrounding neighborhood skews more college-educated (51.7% BA+) and has a lower poverty rate (20.3%) than the school population itself, which suggests the zoned enrollment pulls from a more economically mixed swath than the immediate census area.

South Harlem is a neighborhood where about half of adults hold a bachelor's degree and median household income sits around $68,758, though 20.3% of residents live below the poverty line and only 12.4% of households have children under 18 — a relatively low share that reflects the area's mix of long-time residents and adult households without kids. Homeownership is low (18.2%) and median home values reflect Manhattan's scale.

Three subway options within a roughly six-minute walk: the Cathedral Pkwy (110 St) station on the C and B lines (about 4 minutes), 116 St on the C and B (about 5 minutes), and 110 St–Malcolm X Plaza on the 2 and 3 (about 6 minutes).