Academy of Public Relations, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Academy of Public Relations

Academy of Public Relations is a middle school serving sixth through eighth grade in the South Bronx, located in a neighborhood with exceptionally high housing costs relative to median incomes and a student body that is almost entirely Hispanic, Black, and economically disadvantaged. The school's most recent test results show proficiency rates that are well below state norms across both math and English language arts at all grade levels tested.

In math, proficiency ranges from near zero at sixth grade to single-digit percentages by eighth grade. In English language arts, sixth graders show proficiency around one in ten students, seventh graders around one in six, and eighth graders around one in three. Science proficiency in eighth grade sits at similarly low levels. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of Bronx County districts on an overall proficiency index. A parent may want to look into further what academic supports or interventions the school has in place and what the trajectory of these results has been over time, since recent data alone does not show whether performance is stabilizing, improving, or declining.

The school is small, with enrollment in the low hundreds distributed across three grade levels, and serves a highly concentrated population. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic with a smaller Black population. Enrollment data on special education and English learner status was not available, so a parent seeking to understand how the school serves students with disabilities or emerging English speakers should ask the school directly.

The school sits within New York City Geographic District 7, part of the broader South Bronx. The neighborhood around Forest Avenue in the 10456 zip code is in rapid growth and development, with multiple large affordable housing projects in planning or construction phases, including Fordham Landing South and phases of the La Central development nearby. Housing values in the zip code have appreciated, though rents remain above national benchmarks. The Bronx overall is experiencing accelerated investment and population growth, with new transit infrastructure planned through the Penn Access project. At the same time, the immediate area is densely urban, heavily institutional in places, and economically stressed relative to the city as a whole.

Academy of Public Relations does not report data on school discipline, attendance, chronic absenteeism, or staffing, so a parent cannot assess those dimensions from the available information. The school's website was not provided, so a parent should visit directly or contact the school to learn about its specific pedagogical approach, course offerings, and any specialized programs or initiatives that might not appear in state testing data or demographic snapshots. The recent rollout of the NYC Reads literacy curriculum across all city districts, including District 7, means sixth graders arrived to newly mandated phonics-based reading instruction, which altered classroom practice but whose effects are not yet reflected in comparative trend data.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses 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	17	6.0%
Science	16	6.0%

Math

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 29% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 38% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 32% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 29% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 36% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 39% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 26% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · district not reported

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 7, 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 7Lower-income16%Higher-income20%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income10%Higher-income20%11 pp gap