The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Math. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Matilda Avenue School (the)
Matilda Avenue School sits on Matilda Avenue in the Wakefield-area edge of the northeast Bronx, serving children from kindergarten through fifth grade within New York City Geographic District 11. It is a small public elementary school by the standards of the borough, drawing from a neighborhood where apartment corridors and more residential streets intersect. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the more economically concentrated student bodies in the city. The school is majority Black and Hispanic, with smaller shares of Asian, white, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in what we reviewed.
On the New York State Testing Program, the school's results for third through fifth graders present a mixed picture across subjects. In math, proficiency is roughly split between grade levels, with fifth graders performing somewhat better than fourth graders, and third graders landing in the middle. The overall pattern is that between about a third and just under half of students in any tested grade reach the proficient-or-above threshold in math. English language arts follows a similar contour, with fifth grade again showing the strongest results and fourth grade the softest. Science, tested only at fifth grade, is the area of sharpest concern: a relatively small fraction of students scored proficient or above, noticeably below the math and ELA results for that same cohort. Parents who want a fuller picture of what is driving those science numbers, and what the school is doing in response, would do well to ask directly.
When placed against other schools with available proficiency data relative to districts in Bronx County, Matilda Avenue's overall proficiency index across subjects and grades sits in the top quartile of that comparison set. That is a meaningful position, particularly given the degree of economic need in the building, and it suggests the school is performing above the midpoint for its peer context even while the absolute proficiency numbers remain well below state averages.
Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible from what we have to say whether results are moving up, holding steady, or declining.
Two curriculum shifts are directly relevant to families considering this school. Under the NYC Reads mandate, publicly reported as of fall 2024, all city elementary schools are now required to use one of three phonics-based reading programs aligned to the science of reading. This changes the instructional approach families will encounter in the classroom. A separate intervention requirement, covering struggling readers from elementary through high school, also took effect in the 2025-26 school year, which affects how the school supports children reading below grade level, including those with dyslexia. The NYC Solves math overhaul is focused primarily on middle and high school grades, so its direct impact at this K-5 school is more limited for now.
The surrounding northeast Bronx neighborhood reflects the borough's layered character. The area near Matilda Avenue has a quieter, more residential feel than denser commercial hubs like Fordham or the South Bronx, with transit access via local bus and subway connecting residents to the broader city. The local housing market has moved sharply upward in recent years, with values in the relevant zip code well above the statewide median and appreciating at a pace faster than the state average. Rents have also climbed. The Bronx more broadly is in an active development phase, with large affordable housing projects publicly announced across multiple neighborhoods, and a city zoning overhaul adopted in late 2024 opening paths for more density. Families weighing a longer-term commitment to the area should factor in that the housing market here is rising, not flat.
Program details, extracurricular offerings, staffing ratios, and attendance and discipline data were not available in what we reviewed. A parent would want to ask the school directly about those dimensions, as well as about how the new citywide curriculum mandates are being implemented and what supports exist for students performing below grade level.
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