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Our Insights

What’s Special

Modeled on Brooklyn Latin

The Downside

Friction between staff and principal

Westchester Square Academy, opened in fall 2012 in the Herbert H. Lehman campus, is designed to bring the philosophy and teaching methods of one of the city's most selective schools, Brooklyn Latin, to a wider group of students. Unfortunately, there has been a rapid deterioration in the tone of the school since the founding principal left in 2016, according to school surveys.

There is friction between teachers and Principal Yira Salcedo, who arrived in 2016, according to surveys. Several parents have told us many of the school's teachers left in Salcedo’s first two years.  

On the positive side, Westchester Square Academy has maintained its original teaching methods, such as student-led discussions, called Socratic Seminars. Students learn to defend their ideas logically, to draw key ideas from their reading and to state and write their ideas clearly. Students take quarterly assessments and teachers offer lots of feedback.

Most 9th grade classes have two adults in the classroom with the addition of either a special education teacher or a humanities teacher.

Westchester has a screened honors program for students with good attendance and grades who seek more demanding coursework, including calculus, chemistry and physics. Students in the unscreened program who want to push themselves may also take pre-AP and AP classes. This "open honors" approach allows them to take just one or two AP classes if they show a willingness and demonstrate motivation. 

Students make use of Lehman’s campus-wide clubs and sports. WSA has several clubs with topics such as social justice, drama, dance and debate. It shares a cafeteria with Renaissance, another small high school in the building.

A college advisor works with classroom teachers on skills such as vocabulary development, test taking and essay writing.

The school was founded by Sara Dingledy, assistant headmaster of Brooklyn Latin, who left to be principal of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in fall 2016.  (Lydie Raschka, web reports, October 2018) 

 

 

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
91%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
82%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
80%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
60%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

409
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
81%
Students with disabilities
 
27%
Multilingual learners
 
12%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
2%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
76%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
51%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
45%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
78%
6.2
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
85
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
70%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

 
5%

Computer Science

 
3%

Physics

Not offered in 2019-20

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
32%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
8%

Music

Not offered in 2019-20
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
53%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
85%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
59%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
74%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

Westchester Square Academy (Y58A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

College-preparatory curriculum with a liberal arts focus.

Westchester Square Academy Honors Program (Y58B)

Admissions Method: Screened With Assessment

Requirements:

  • Average Course Grades - 75%
  • Interview - 25%

Program Description:

Program offers accelerated coursework, including AP courses, starting in Sophomore year. Students will have the opportunity to take advanced-level coursework, including Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics. For more information about how to complete this program's application requirements, please visit https://www.westchestersquare.org/become_a_student

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP United States Government and Politics, Arts (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Football, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Rugby, Soccer, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Flag Football, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Volleyball

Coed PSAL teams

Cricket, Stunt

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

3000 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx NY 10461

Trains: 6 Line to Westchester Square-East Tremont Av

Buses: Bx21, Bx24, Bx31, Bx4, Bx40, Bx42, Bx4A, Bx8


Contact

Principal: Marques Rich

Parent Coordinator: Cristina Cortese

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Herbert H. Lehman Educational Campus with five other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? Yes

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