The School for Inquiry and Social Justice

Proficiency is well below the District 8 average of 46% in ELA and 48% in math — this school's 34% ELA and 32% math sit roughly 12 to 16 points behind its peers. The trajectory tells the story: scores peaked in 2019 (51% ELA, 55% math), collapsed in 2022 (math fell to 19%), partially recovered, and now sit lower than at any time since the pandemic. Science at 42.5% is the strongest subject and likely reflects the school's STEM offerings, but it still trails district norms. Grade 6 results are particularly weak — 30% ELA and just 22% math — suggesting incoming students need significant catch-up support.

The day-to-day atmosphere is split. On one side, families clearly feel respected: 91% parent satisfaction, 93% parent-teacher trust, and 92% parent-principal trust all signal that the school communicates well and welcomes parents in. On the other side, chronic absenteeism sits at 64% — nearly two-thirds of students miss enough school to be flagged — and average daily attendance is only 90%. Discipline is light (just 1% suspension rate), but the trend has ticked up from one to three suspensions over three years. Teachers rate instructional quality at 84%, below the district's 88%, and colleagues trust each other at 89%, which is solid.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (77%) and Black (17%), with a small Asian population (4%), mirroring the surrounding neighborhood. Eighty-six percent of students qualify as high economic need, and 22% have IEPs — meaning more than one in five students receives special education services. The school offers ELL support and Spanish coursework, which align with the community's language profile. Average class size of 22.6 is right at the district norm, so this isn't an overcrowding story.

The school sits in Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River, a working-class pocket of the Bronx where median household income is around $41,000 and about a third of residents live below the poverty line. Only 13% of households own their homes, and just 16% include children — this is a neighborhood of renters, multi-generational households, and a fair amount of economic pressure. College-degree attainment is low at 15%, and the families who do live here are the kind who send their kids to their local zoned middle school rather than commuting across boroughs.

Three 6 train stops serve the school: Morrison Av-Soundview (about a 7-minute walk), Elder Av (about 8 minutes), and St Lawrence Av (about 12 minutes).