The Cinema School

The Cinema School doesn't share the proficiency rates I'd normally compare to the District 12 averages of roughly 45% ELA and 43% math, but the indirect signals point to a rigorous academic environment: 1,045 applicants chasing 65 seats, AP courses on the transcript, structured ELL support, and a screened admissions process that selects students on academic and creative criteria. Class size at 21.9 lines up exactly with the district average, so the small-school upside here is relationships and focus rather than tighter cohorts. Trends over time are hard to assess without year-over-year proficiency data.

The climate numbers here are striking — 100% of parent respondents said they trust the principal and 100% said they trust teachers, compared to a district parent-satisfaction average around 92%. Zero suspensions in the most recent reporting period is also exceptional against a district suspension rate near 0.4%. The honest caveat: only 13 families returned the family survey (a 5% response rate), so this is a bright portrait built on a small sample; teacher trust in leadership at 71% is the softer note in an otherwise very warm picture.

Three-quarters of students are Hispanic and 21% Black, with small numbers of Asian, White, multiracial, and Native American students — a body that mirrors many District 12 schools. The economic need index of 86.5% means nearly 9 in 10 students come from low-income households, which fits the surrounding Soundview neighborhood where median income is just over $41,000 and roughly one in three residents lives below the poverty line. With 25% of students having IEPs, the school explicitly serves a wide range of learners within a tight 348-student cohort.

The Cinema School sits in the Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River area, a working-class pocket of the Bronx where the median household income is about $41,000 and roughly one in three residents lives below the poverty line. Most families here rent rather than own, with homeownership at just 13.4%, and only about 16% of households have children — lower than the citywide norm. The neighborhood is heavily transit-dependent, with the 6 train running through the heart of it and the 2/5 a short trip away.

Three subway stations are within walking distance: the 6 train at Elder Av and at Morrison Av-Soundview (each about a 6-minute walk), and the 2/5 trains at West Farms Sq-E Tremont Av (about an 11-minute walk).