At a Glance
A humanities-anchored Bronx 6-12 school where teacher-family trust runs high and suspensions are essentially zero — but proficiency on state tests still trails the borough
Best suited for
Families who value a calm, humanities-rich culture with strong teacher-family relationships and a deeply literary school identity, and who are prepared to actively support attendance and literacy growth at home.
Overall Rating
Grades 3–8
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
High school
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Literary and humanities identity — students can join a literary magazine (One Pen), a student newspaper (The Moth), poetry slams, open mics, and AP humanities coursework.
- Zero suspensions in a school of 575 spanning grades 6-12, alongside teacher instruction-quality ratings of 96%.
- Math proficiency has climbed almost fivefold over the past decade, from 4.8% in 2016 to 22.2% in 2025.
- Extraordinary demand for an unscreened school — 542 applicants for 65 seats, an offer rate under 13%.
- Trust scores between teachers, leadership, and families all land in the 93-95% range, well above district averages.
Things to consider
- ELA proficiency at 16.5% is well below the district average — students enrolling here will likely need significant literacy support.
- Chronic absenteeism sits at 38%, and overall attendance trails the district by six points; daily attendance is a real concern.
- Spanning grades 6 through 12, the school is a long-haul commitment; families should think about whether a 6-12 model fits their child.
- The surrounding neighborhood has a 40% poverty rate and limited homeownership, which families should weigh against the supports offered inside the school.
- Family survey response rate is only 9%, so the positive parent-satisfaction numbers come from a relatively small subgroup of engaged families.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 7
Within District 7, this school sits in the lower band on overall quality score (0.77 vs the district's 2.01 average), well behind high-performing peers like Success Academy Charter School - Bronx 1, South Bronx Classical Charter School II, and Zeta Charter Schools - South Bronx. Its program richness score of 90, however, is competitive with those same peers.
Academics
At 16.5% ELA proficiency and 22.2% math proficiency, the school sits roughly two-thirds of the way below the District 7 averages of 51% ELA and 49% math — students here are catching up, not leading. The more interesting story is math: proficiency has climbed almost fivefold from 4.8% in 2016 to 22.2% in 2025, with the last four years showing steady year-over-year gains. ELA has bounced in a wide band (17% to 31%) since 2018 and has slipped back to 16.5% this year, suggesting the school has yet to lock in literacy gains the way it has in math.
Culture
Teacher responses tell a strikingly positive story: 96% say instruction quality is strong and 93-95% trust scores run across parents, teachers, and leadership — well above district norms. Zero suspensions for a school of 575 spanning grades 6-12 is genuinely rare and signals a calm, well-managed climate. The softer underbelly is attendance: at 85.2%, it's six points below the district average, with 38% of students chronically absent — a number worth taking seriously. The 9% family survey response rate is also low, meaning parent satisfaction data reflects a small but deeply engaged slice of the community.
Community
The student body is 64% Hispanic and 32% Black — a near mirror of the Mott Haven-Port Morris neighborhood, where roughly 40% of households live below the poverty line. With 28% of students classified as having an IEP and a sizable ELL population, the school serves a high-needs community by every measure. The 47% diversity index sits at the moderate mark — students come from a mix of cultural backgrounds but a couple of groups dominate.
Neighborhood
Mott Haven-Port Morris is one of the South Bronx's densest and most working-class neighborhoods — census figures put median household income at $29,110, with a 40% poverty rate and homeownership at just 6.1%, meaning most residents rent. The neighborhood is predominantly Latino and skews young, though only about 12% of households have children under 18, which is modest by NYC standards. Public transit is the way almost everyone gets around.
Three subway stops serve the school within a 5-7 minute walk: the 6 train at 3 Av-138 St, the 4 and 5 trains at 138 St-Grand Concourse, and the 2 and 5 trains at 149 St-Grand Concourse.
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
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science 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) · 36 families responded (9% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Our school focuses on writing and social justice, giving all scholars a place to leverage their leadership and amplify their voice. Our extended school-day means there are additional opportunities for students to take high-interest classes and connect their interests and passions in new ways. At BAL, students do A LOT of writing, using their thinking to explain, process, and drive understand in new areas!
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy Of LettersUnscreened67 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Bronx Academy of LettersUnscreened
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
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 Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters a good school?
- On Motley, The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters earns an overall rating of 19/100 — 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 below the District 7 average. Its high school grades have their own rating, 52/100, from graduation and Regents results.
- What grades does The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters serve?
- The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters serves grades 6 to 12.
- How do students get into The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters?
- The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters public, charter, or private?
- The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters is a public school in NYC Community School District 7.
- What neighborhood is The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters in?
- The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters is in Mott Haven-Port Morris, Bronx.