The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Barack Obama School for Social Justice
Barack Obama School for Social Justice is a public middle and high school serving grades 7 through 12 in Yonkers. It enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial representation from Black students and a smaller share of Asian, white, and multiracial students. About four-fifths of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a low-income enrollment base.
The school's academic performance shows clear room for growth. In grades 7 and 8, which are the only grades for which state data is available, proficiency rates fall well below what would be considered strong. In seventh-grade English language arts, just over two-fifths of students score at proficient or above. Seventh-grade math shows proficiency at about one-third. By eighth grade, both subjects see a further decline: fewer than one-third in ELA and under one-fifth in math reach proficiency. Eighth-grade science performance is particularly low, with proficiency under ten percent. These results position the school in the bottom quartile of Westchester County districts on overall proficiency. Participation rates are high, suggesting the assessments are reliable measures of student performance rather than artifacts of absenteeism. State assessment data for grades 9 through 12 is not available because New York does not test students in those grades at the state level on math and ELA.
The school sits within the Yonkers City School District, which is undergoing substantial change. The district opened the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School in September 2024, its first newly built facility in more than a decade, a milestone that signals investment in aging facilities. A second new Pre-K through 8 school has been approved for the former Mulford Gardens site, and the district is pursuing a long-term "Rebuild Yonkers Schools" modernization plan spanning several years. Alongside growth, the district voted to close Museum School 25 at the end of the 2024-2025 school year due to low enrollment and high repair costs, meaning some families will be displaced. The district remains governed by mayoral control rather than an elected school board, a governance structure unique in New York State outside New York City.
Yonkers itself is a dense, urbanized city on the Hudson River, the third-largest in New York State. Downtown has seen sustained revitalization centered on its waterfront, with new residential towers, parks, and restaurants drawing foot traffic. The downtown library and school district central office share a single building at One Larkin Center, directly across from the Metro-North Hudson Line station, making the area accessible by rail to the broader region. Neighborhoods range from the revitalized downtown around Getty Square to quieter residential areas like Northwest Yonkers near historic Untermyer Gardens and Southwest Yonkers near Tibbetts Brook Park. The city's walkability score is in the upper tier for New York State. Housing values have risen, and rental rates are notably high; the rent-to-income ratio in the area is steep, reflecting affordability pressures for renters. The local economy is anchored by healthcare, education, retail, manufacturing (including Kawasaki Rail Car), and increasingly by the Great Point/Lionsgate film studios complex downtown, which is expected to drive employment growth once fully operational.
A parent or resident considering Barack Obama School should understand that the school is serving a predominantly low-income, predominantly Latino student body and that recent state test results show proficiency rates substantially below the county median. The school's academic trajectory warrants close conversation with administrators about specific supports, curriculum approaches, and improvement efforts for middle grades particularly. Whether this school fits depends on proximity, specific program offerings (which were not detailed in available data), and individual family circumstances. The broader context of district investment in new schools and facility modernization suggests systemic attention to improvement, though the immediate academic performance data raises questions worth exploring directly with the school.
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