At a Glance
A dual-language East Harlem elementary where test scores have nearly tripled in a decade and parents overwhelmingly feel heard
Best suited for
Spanish-speaking or bilingual families in East Harlem who want a community-rooted, academically improving school with strong family-teacher relationships and don't mind a class size right at the district average.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- One of the rare district schools explicitly built around bilingual/bicultural identity, in a neighborhood where Spanish is the home language for most families.
- ELA proficiency has nearly tripled in nine years — a rare upward arc in a system where most schools have plateaued or slipped.
- Parent satisfaction at 98% and zero suspensions for three years — a rare combination of warmth and order.
- Class size right at the district average (~20 students), so kids get reasonable attention without the trade-offs of an ultra-small school.
- Teacher-reported safety at 96%, well above the district average of 87%.
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 54.5% is high — ask how the school is working to get kids to class more consistently.
- Third-grade ELA proficiency (30.8%) is the weak spot; the bilingual model may explain part of this but families should ask how the school supports the transition year.
- The student body is 91% Hispanic — families looking for a more racially mixed environment may want to weigh that.
- East Harlem has a poverty rate over 33%; the school serves a high-need population, which can mean more support services but also more family instability.
- IEP enrollment of 27% is meaningful — families of students with disabilities should ask about specific programs and supports.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 4
This is one of the stronger elementary schools in District 4, sitting ahead of most of its peers but below the very top performers like Tag Young Scholars and Success Academy Harlem 3. For a neighborhood zoned school rather than a screened or charter option, the overall score of 2.54/4 is well above the district average of 1.90.
Academics
This is a school on the rise. ELA proficiency has climbed from 20.3% in 2016 to 60.2% in 2025, and math from 32.5% to 66.7% — putting both subjects comfortably above District 4 averages of roughly 50% and 45% respectively. The pandemic dip in 2022 was real but the rebound has been sharp, with the strongest gains coming in the past two years. One caveat: third-grade results trail fourth and fifth grade significantly (30.8% ELA vs. 68.9% in fourth grade), which often reflects the language transition in dual-language programs where students are tested in English before they're fully proficient in it.
Culture
The trust numbers here are exceptional: 98% parent satisfaction, 100% of teachers say relationships are strong, and 96% of teachers report feeling safe at school — each of those well above the district average. There have been zero suspensions for three straight years. The one thing parents should know is the chronic absenteeism rate of 54.5% — more than half of students miss 10% or more of school days, which can blunt the impact of strong classroom work on the kids who show up every day.
Community
The student body is 91% Hispanic and 8% Black, with an economic need index of 94.4% — meaning almost every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch. That profile closely tracks the surrounding East Harlem census tract, where median household income hovers around $36,700 and roughly a third of residents live below the poverty line. About 27% of students have IEPs, which is meaningfully higher than typical and worth noting for families navigating special education.
Neighborhood
East Harlem is a tight-knit, multigenerational neighborhood where most adults rent rather than own and many families are raising kids on modest incomes. The local population skews young, and the school population mirrors that — it's a community school serving its own block, in many ways. Higher education attainment is below the city average, but the neighborhood has deep cultural roots and an active family presence in the school survey responses.
The school is well-served by the 6 train, with 110 St about a 4-minute walk, 103 St about 7 minutes, and 116 St about 8 minutes away — giving families realistic options depending on where they're coming from.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 144 families responded (53% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Pre-K
The Bilingual Bicultural School also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
The Bilingual Bicultural School doesn't have an attendance zone of its own, so living nearby doesn't guarantee a seat here. Families apply on MySchools, and seats go to the school's priority groups first, then by random lottery.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the kindergarten application.
- 2Rank this school with your zoned school, if you have one, and any others you'd take — in true preference order.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is The Bilingual Bicultural School a good school?
- On Motley, The Bilingual Bicultural School earns an overall rating of 64/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run above the District 4 average.
- What grades does The Bilingual Bicultural School serve?
- The Bilingual Bicultural School serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- Is The Bilingual Bicultural School public, charter, or private?
- The Bilingual Bicultural School is a public school in NYC Community School District 4.
- What neighborhood is The Bilingual Bicultural School in?
- The Bilingual Bicultural School is in East Harlem (North), Manhattan.