The STEAM Bridge School

Both subjects are well ahead of district averages: ELA proficiency of 85.4% runs roughly 29 points above the District 11 average of 57%, and math proficiency of 79.4% beats the district average by about 24 points. The trajectory is genuinely encouraging — math climbed from 63.2% in 2019 to 79.4% in 2025, a 16-point gain, while ELA recovered from a pandemic-era dip of 68.1% in 2022 back up past its pre-pandemic level. Third-graders are the standouts (93.5% in both subjects), fourth-grade scores are the soft spot (75.7% ELA, 71.1% math), and fifth-grade rebounds in ELA (89.3%) while math (75%) is more modest — the usual pattern of a transition year.

Day-to-day this looks like a calm, instruction-focused building. Teacher-reported safety is 99% (versus a district average of 95%), teacher-rated instruction quality is 98%, and the school has logged zero suspensions for three consecutive years — a remarkable streak in a district where the average suspension rate hovers near 0.5%. Parent-principal trust at 97% and parent-teacher trust at 96% suggest families feel heard. The one notable dip is teacher collegial trust at 72%, the lowest of the trust measures, meaning individual teachers like their work and their principal but appear less connected to one another. Attendance is healthy at 92.6% — just above the district average — though 71.8% of students are flagged as chronically absent, with Black students (85.4%) far more likely to be chronically absent than Hispanic peers (63.8%), worth knowing about.

The student body is 55% Hispanic, 18% Asian, 17% White, 9% Black, and 1% multiracial — a diversity index of 68% that reflects the immigrant character of Pelham Parkway-Van Nest and the surrounding Bronx. Economic need is high (ENI of 82.5%), with 15% of students on IEPs. Despite that need, PTA fundraising totaled just $4,195, or about $15 per student — below the district average of roughly $24 — which suggests either a lean budget operation or a community whose financial contributions don't mirror the school's engagement levels. The 94% family survey response rate, by contrast, suggests families are showing up in every way except dollars.

Pelham Parkway-Van Nest is a working- and middle-class neighborhood in the eastern Bronx, with a median household income of about $72,600 and a poverty rate of 16%. Only 17% of households have children — a lower share than many NYC family neighborhoods — and just 23% of homes are owner-occupied, meaning most families are renters in a market where the median home value runs around $415,700. Roughly 28% of adult residents hold a bachelor's degree, and the area's immigrant roots remain visible in the student body and the block.

Two nearby subway options make getting here reasonable: Bronx Park East on the 2/5 lines is about an 8-minute walk, and E 180 St on the 2/5 is roughly 9 minutes; Parkchester on the 6 is a longer 16-minute walk.