The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Social studies. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ps 35 Franz Siegel
PS 35 Franz Siegel sits on East 163rd Street in the South Bronx, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as a traditional public elementary school within New York City Geographic District 9. The school draws from one of the most economically pressed neighborhoods in the city: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places it at the far end of the economic spectrum even within a district where high need is the norm. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black population and very small numbers of other groups. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the provided records.
On the New York State tests given in grades three through five, Franz Siegel's results are mixed and worth looking at carefully. Third-grade math and ELA scores sit near or just below half of students reaching proficiency, which is the stronger end of what the school shows. By fifth grade, math proficiency drops to roughly a quarter of students, and ELA and science follow a similar downward pattern as students move through the grades. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other schools in the comparison set drawn from Bronx County districts, which tells you something meaningful about context: this is a school performing above the midpoint within a county where attainment levels are generally lower than statewide averages. A parent weighing these results should ask the school directly about what is driving the grade-to-grade decline in math, particularly as students move from third to fifth grade, and what supports are in place to address it.
Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline from prior years.
No graduation rate applies here, as the school ends at fifth grade.
On the curriculum side, two changes are relevant and concrete. Under the NYC Reads literacy mandate, all District 9 elementary schools are now required to use one of three phonics-based reading programs chosen by the city, ending the prior practice of school-by-school curriculum selection. Publicly reported sources describe this as among the largest literacy overhauls in the city's history. The parallel NYC Solves math initiative applies a standardized math curriculum to middle schools, so families thinking ahead to middle school in District 9 would encounter that structure next. These mandates reflect a deliberate shift toward structured, research-aligned instruction across the district, which some families will welcome and others will want to probe further with the school.
District 9 has seen enrollment decline over recent years, with the sharpest losses at the elementary level, though the most recent period showed stabilization. That context matters because enrollment pressures can affect program depth and staffing, and a parent may want to ask what the school's enrollment trajectory looks like specifically.
The surrounding neighborhood is the South Bronx, a dense urban environment with strong subway access, significant ongoing affordable housing development, and a street life concentrated along commercial corridors. Home values in the immediate zip code run below the statewide median and well below the New York State average, and rents have been rising modestly year over year. The Bronx more broadly is in an active construction phase for affordable housing, with several large projects underway near transit corridors. Families considering the area as a place to live, not just a school to attend, will find it accessible by transit and undergoing real physical change, though it carries the economic characteristics typical of the South Bronx.
Program offerings beyond standard instruction were not detailed in the available data. Civil rights data was not provided. For a fuller picture of supports, enrichment, and staffing, a school visit and conversation with the principal would fill gaps that the data here does not.
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