Theatre Arts Production Company School

The trend here is one of the more striking turnarounds in District 10. ELA proficiency rose from 24.9% in 2016 to 42.5% in 2025, and math climbed from 15.9% to 51.9% — meaning math now sits meaningfully above the District 10 average of 43.5%, while ELA is roughly even with the district average of 45%. There was a real dip in 2022 (especially math at 13.7%, likely COVID-disrupted), but the school has bounced back hard over the last three years. By grade, math scores are especially strong in 7th grade (85.7%) and ELA is strongest in 8th (46.7%), suggesting the school finds its academic footing as students settle in. The overall quality score of 1.89 out of 4 edges out the District 10 average of 1.77.

The day-to-day feel is one of high family engagement paired with real attendance challenges. Parent-teacher trust sits at 94% and parent-principal trust is also 94%, well above what you'd see at most city schools — families here clearly feel heard. Teacher-reported instruction quality is 90%, just under the district average of 91.4%, and teacher collegial trust is 87%, suggesting a staff that works well together. The flip side: chronic absenteeism runs at 65.9%, which is high even for a District 10 school, and boys are missing school at notably higher rates (73%) than girls (61.1%). Discipline, meanwhile, is trending in the right direction — suspensions fell from 19 in 2022-23 to 10 in 2023-24, though the 2% suspension rate is still higher than the district average of 0.28%. The 89.7% daily attendance rate means that when kids show up, they show up consistently.

The student body is 70% Hispanic and 27% Black, with a 41% diversity index and an economic need index of 89.7% — meaning almost nine in ten students come from low-income households. About a quarter of students have IEPs, and the school offers ELL support, so this is a community that includes significant numbers of students with disabilities and English learners. The demographic mix closely tracks the Mount Hope neighborhood around the school, which is largely renter-occupied (only 3.9% homeownership) and where about 31% of residents live below the poverty line. This is a school deeply rooted in its neighborhood rather than a destination that draws from far away.

Mount Hope is a working-class, predominantly renter neighborhood in the central Bronx. Median household income runs around $41,487 and about 31% of residents live in poverty, while just 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Homeownership is strikingly low at under 4%, and the median home value is around $361,597 — typical of a neighborhood made up almost entirely of renters in multi-family buildings. With about 13% of households including children, this is a family-rich area that nonetheless serves a relatively small pool of school-age kids per block.

The school is well-served by subway. The 182-183 Sts station on the B and D lines is about a 5-minute walk, Fordham Rd on the B and D is roughly 10 minutes, and the 183 St station on the 4 line is about a 9-minute walk — so families coming from anywhere along those trunk lines have a reasonable commute.