Young Leaders Elementary School

The academic story at Young Leaders is one of the more striking upward climbs in the district. In 2016, only 11% of students met ELA proficiency and 9% met math proficiency — both far below the district average. By 2025, math proficiency had reached 52.9% (above the district average of 49%), and ELA had risen to 37.9%, though that figure still trails the district's 51.3%. The dip during the pandemic years (2020–2021 saw scores fall to the low-20s for ELA and mid-20s for math) was real but the school has rebounded sharply since, posting its strongest math score on record in 2025. The overall quality score of 1.82 out of 4 sits just below the district average of 2.01, but the direction of travel is clearly up.

The day-to-day feel here is notably warm and trusting by the data. Every major survey dimension is strong: 100% of teachers report strong relationships with families, parent-teacher trust is 97%, parent-principal trust is 98%, and 96% of families are satisfied — all above district averages. Teachers also rate their own school's instruction quality at 91% (above the district's 88.4%) and feel high trust with each other (95%). Discipline is essentially a non-issue: zero suspensions for three straight years, compared to a district average suspension rate of 0.84%. Teacher-reported safety is 81%, slightly above the district's 80.5%. The one significant climate concern is chronic absenteeism at 73.8% — meaning roughly three in four students miss 10% or more of the school year — which is a much higher rate than most schools and suggests families are juggling difficult circumstances. Notably, daily attendance itself is 92.5%, just above the district average, so the picture is mixed: most students come most days, but far too many miss enough school to be flagged as chronically absent.

The student body reflects the surrounding neighborhood closely. About 73% of students identify as Hispanic and 24% as Black, mirroring Mott Haven-Port Morris where the population is largely Latino and Black. White, Asian, and multiracial students together make up just 4% of enrollment. The diversity index of 40% is moderate, meaning the school is racially mixed but not as varied as some others in the city. About 29% of students have an IEP, which is on the higher side and reflects the school's self-contained special education class. With only 229 students, the school has the feel of a close-knit community where most families likely know each other and where the staff knows each child by name.

Young Leaders is surrounded by one of the most economically challenged census tracts in the South Bronx. Median household income here is about $29,110, and 40.1% of residents live below the poverty line — more than double the citywide rate. Only about 12.2% of adults have a bachelor's degree, and just 6.1% of households own their homes (though the median home value, where ownership exists, is $819,494, reflecting rapid gentrification pressure in the area). Only 12.2% of households include children, which is relatively low for an elementary school catchment area and suggests many local families are renters or extended households. Despite the economic strain, the neighborhood is well-connected to the rest of the city by subway.

Three subway stations on the 6 line serve the school directly: Brook Av is about a three-minute walk, 3 Av-138 St about seven minutes, and Cypress Av about eight minutes — making commuting by train straightforward for families coming from across the South Bronx and the East Side of Manhattan