The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Math. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Urban Scholars Community School
Urban Scholars Community School is a small elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the South Bronx, with just under three hundred students. The school sits in a neighborhood marked by dense residential blocks, commercial corridors, and close transit access; the broader Bronx is in active growth mode, with substantial new affordable housing under development and major infrastructure investments underway, particularly around transit-oriented projects.
The student body is almost entirely economically disadvantaged: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The population is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with smaller populations of other groups. Specific data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available, so a parent may want to contact the school directly about the proportion of students receiving special education or English-language support.
In state testing from 2024-25, the school's proficiency rates sit below the midpoint among districts in Bronx County. In math, third-graders performed slightly above the county median, while fourth- and fifth-graders fell below it. In English language arts, third- and fifth-graders performed above county median, but fourth-graders underperformed. In science, fifth-grade proficiency was notably weak relative to district peers. The strongest performance came in fifth-grade ELA, where proficiency reached its highest point across all subjects and grades. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of Bronx County districts, a measure that reflects the mean across all tested subjects and grades, though this masks uneven performance within grades.
The school serves grades pre-K through fifth only, so there is no high school pathway and no graduation rate data applies. A family considering this school is choosing an elementary feeder into the district's middle and high school system.
District 12, which operates the school, has mandated curriculum changes affecting instruction directly. Starting in fall 2026, all elementary schools in the district must shift to Illustrative Mathematics, the first time elementary math teachers are required to change their approach under the city's standardized math mandate. Reading instruction shifted in 2023 to the Into Reading program, moving classrooms toward phonics-based, structured literacy instruction. These are permanent changes a parent should understand, as they shape what students learn and how.
The Bronx neighborhood context offers substantial transit access through subway and bus lines, proximity to parks including large green spaces, and a mixture of residential blocks and commercial streets. Housing in the area has appreciated, and new affordable residential development is actively underway in the surrounding communities, though home values reflect the Bronx's overall market position relative to the city and state. The school's location places it within a walkable neighborhood with shops and services nearby, though like much of the South Bronx, the area faces economic and infrastructure pressures typical of lower-income urban neighborhoods.
A parent enrolling at Urban Scholars would be placing their child in a school serving a predominantly low-income student population with mixed academic performance, stable but modest proficiency rates, and curriculum aligned to the district's recent standardized approaches. The school is small enough that staff may know families well, and the neighborhood offers the amenities and constraints of dense urban living in a rapidly changing borough.
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