Amistad Dual Language School, New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Amistad Dual Language School

Amistad Dual Language School serves a tight, cohesive student body in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, with enrollment of about four hundred students spanning kindergarten through eighth grade. The school's defining feature is its dual language immersion model, which structures instruction in both English and Spanish throughout the grades. This pathway appeals to families seeking bilingual development and cultural continuity, particularly the large Dominican and other Hispanic communities in the neighborhood. Roughly all of the student body identifies as Hispanic, and substantially more than three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the area around West 186th Street and Broadway.

Academically, the school shows uneven proficiency across tested subjects and grades. Fifth grade is a relative strength, with math proficiency notably high and English language arts solid, while eighth-grade science performance is respectable. Fourth and seventh grades also clear moderate to strong marks in math. The harder picture emerges in sixth grade, where both math and English language arts proficiency drop meaningfully, and in seventh and eighth grades, where English language arts proficiency sits well below the midpoint. Third grade and sixth grade science performance lag, with the school testing fewer than half of third graders as proficient in science. Grade 8 shows no math test data, suggesting the grade may not have sat for the state assessment or the data were not reported. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint relative to other district schools in New York County, but the trajectory is inconsistent, with strength earlier in the elementary years and steeper drops in the middle grades.

Participation rates are generally solid, hovering near or above ninety percent in most tested grades, with the exception of eighth grade English language arts, where participation fell to seventy-eight percent. This lower participation warrants attention, as it signals either absences on test days, exclusions, or students not taking the test for another reason that a parent may want to look into with the school.

The school operates within New York City's Geographic District 6, a region spanning upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx where enrollment has declined over time, driven by fewer resident families and rising charter school enrollment. At the district level, a mandated literacy curriculum overhaul (NYC Reads) requires all elementary schools to use one of three phonics-based reading programs, a shift from the balanced-literacy approaches many schools previously used. This affects how children in early grades are taught to read, and the school has adapted to this requirement.

Housing values in the 10034 zip code, which includes the school's immediate area, reflect the broader New York City market. Home values in the zip code are substantially below the state benchmark and well below the national median, though they have declined modestly over the past year. Rental costs have risen over the same period. The neighborhood is a dense, mixed-use area typical of upper Manhattan, with residential buildings, street-level retail, restaurants, and small businesses integrated throughout. Public transit is readily accessible, and the school is embedded within the walkable neighborhood rather than sited on a suburban-style campus. Daily life is shaped by the subway system and local streets lined with bodegas, services, and community spaces.

Parents considering Amistad should view the school as a specialized pathway centered on sustained dual language immersion, a meaningful advantage for families whose home language is Spanish or who value multilingual development. The early elementary years show stronger academic performance, while the transition to middle grades presents softer proficiency results, particularly in literacy. A parent weighing this school might seek clarity from the school directly on what instructional strategies address the sixth-grade dip and how eighth-grade reading is supported, given the lower participation rate on that assessment.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

1 course reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	44	59.0%

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 53% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 53% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 591%

School 91% · District 53% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 40% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 51% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 55% · ▼ 55 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 47% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 465%

School 65% · District 48% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 54% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 42% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 43% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 49% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 41% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 45% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 583%

School 83% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 6, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income71%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income67%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income56%Higher-income86%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income83%32 pp gap