The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in Math. The lowest is 8% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on South Bronx Literacy Academy
South Bronx Literacy Academy is a small public school in the South Bronx serving second and third graders. It is New York City's first traditional public school designed specifically for students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities, a purpose that shapes every aspect of its design and instruction.
The school was opened as a direct response to a documented gap: many students with dyslexia and reading differences were not being recognized or served by general education classrooms, even with support services. South Bronx Literacy Academy addresses this by making structured literacy instruction its core. Every teacher is trained in the Orton-Gillingham method, the instructional approach widely recognized as the gold standard for students with dyslexia. Reading and writing consume a substantial block of the daily schedule. Classes are kept small, with roughly a similar number of students per classroom. Each grade has an embedded speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist on staff, so students access specialized support within the school day rather than as a pullout service.
Admission is by lottery, with Bronx priority, and the school explicitly welcomes families whose children have been identified with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or other specific learning disabilities, as well as those who have struggled with reading but may not yet have a formal diagnosis.
State testing results from the most recent year show proficiency rates well below the state standard across both grades and both tested subjects, mathematics and English language arts. In mathematics, a small share of third graders scored at the proficient level; fourth graders showed no proficiency. In English language arts, proficiency was similarly low, with single-digit percentages in both grades. These numbers reflect a school population that entered with substantial reading deficits by design. Most students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority Latino, with a substantial share of Black students and a very small share of white and Native American students. Data on the enrollment of English learners and students with IEPs was not reported.
The testing participation rate was reasonable in all grades, above two-thirds in mathematics and approaching nine in ten in English language arts, indicating that most enrolled students sat for the assessments. However, a parent should understand that state standardized tests are not the primary measure of this school's success. The school's mission is not to produce high state test scores but to teach students with dyslexia to read using evidence-based methods. Whether that is happening would be reflected in classroom-level progress monitoring, fluency gains, decoding growth, and other literacy-specific measures that the school likely tracks but that do not appear in standardized testing data. A parent considering this school would want to ask directly about reading progress measurement, how often assessments happen, how gains are communicated, and what the school's evidence base is for improvements in student reading ability.
The school sits in the South Bronx at a moment of significant neighborhood growth and investment. The borough is in a robust housing development phase, with new affordable housing projects underway across multiple neighborhoods. The area around the school is dense, walkable, and served by multiple subway lines, making it accessible to families across the borough. The broader district, New York City Geographic District 7, underwent a major curriculum shift starting in fall 2023 when NYC Reads took effect, requiring all elementary schools to adopt phonics-based reading instruction aligned with the science of reading. That systemwide change happened in the same window as this school's opening and reflects a broader recognition across NYC that reading instruction matters deeply.
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