University Prep Charter Middle School

ELA proficiency at 56.9% sits about five points above the District 7 average of 51.3%, and math at 44.3% is still below the district's 49.0% — though both have been climbing steadily. The math story is the more dramatic one: proficiency roughly quadrupled from 10.1% in 2022 to 44.3% in 2025, the kind of multi-year improvement that signals real instructional change. By grade, the picture is uneven: 7th graders post a strong 59.6% in math and 8th graders 51.4%, while 6th-grade math sits at just 25.9% — suggesting incoming students need heavy support but catch up quickly.

Daily attendance is strong at 95.2%, well above the district's 91.1%, yet 88.3% of students meet the chronic absenteeism threshold — a contradiction worth asking the school to explain, since both numbers come from the same data set. On the survey side, this is one of the most engaged parent bodies in the district: 99% satisfaction, 99% trust between parents and teachers, and an 88% family survey response rate signal a tight-knit community. Teachers rate instructional quality at 89% and trust the principal at 89%, but collegial trust among teachers drops to 76% — meaning the staff gets along less well with each other than they do with families or leadership.

The student body is 54% Hispanic and 41% Black, with a 50% diversity index reflecting two dominant groups rather than wide racial spread, and an economic need index of 84.4% — meaning most families qualify for free or reduced lunch. Twenty-two percent of students have IEPs, well above typical middle-school rates, indicating real inclusion but also meaningful demand on support staff. The school mirrors its Mott Haven-Port Morris surroundings closely: a neighborhood where median household income is $29,110 and 40% of residents live in poverty.

Mott Haven-Port Morris is a dense, working-class South Bronx neighborhood where four in ten residents live below the poverty line and the median household income is around $29,000. Only about 12% of households have children, and just 6% own their homes — most families rent, often in NYCHA towers and newer mixed-income developments. Despite the economic pressures, the area has good transit coverage and easy reach to other parts of the borough and Manhattan.

The 6 train at East 143rd Street–St Mary's is about a 4-minute walk, the 6 at East 149th Street is about 6 minutes, and the 2 and 5 at Jackson Avenue are about 8 minutes — making subway commutes straightforward from almost anywhere in the South Bronx.