Our Insights
What’s Special
Lots of encouragement to go to college
The Downside
Metal detectors
Belmont Prep, a small school in the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Complex, provides personal attention to kids who might be lost in a large school. The school encourages graduates to go to college, and some students have been admitted to New York University, Fordham (across the street) and St. Johns in Queens.
A few students have gone to selective colleges outside New York City, including Vassar and Stanford, said principal Stephen Joseph Gumbs, who graduated from Dartmouth College and is ambitious for his students. He takes students to visit colleges in New England. Some students take accelerated summer classes at Fordham University, right across the street from Belmont Prep.
The school offers a traditional Regents-prep curriculum, including four-years of math and four years of science. Class trips are part of the science curriculum. Students may go to Pelham Bay Park to test the water quality, or to the American Museum of Natural History to study evolution.
The school has a “safe and inclusive environment” and teachers and students trust one another, according the city’s Quality Review, which added: “Student voice is valued through an active student government.”
Students must pass through metal detectors to enter the building. They participate in sports teams with other schools in the building and share the gym, cafeteria and auditorium.
Special education: Special needs students--neglected in most schools--are encouraged to get Regents diplomas. Gumbs, who attended an Ivy League college despite having a math-disability, believes that special needs students can excel academically. He points out that a Belmont Prep valedictorian one year had dyslexia. Students in self-contained classes change rooms for each subject and have teachers who are licensed in both their subject matter and in special education. The school offers special education teacher support services (SETSS) and self-contained classes but does not offer collaborative team teaching. (Clara Hemphill, May 2012, updated with web reports October 2018)
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School Stats
Academics
Students
Race/Ethnicity
Safety & Vibe
Faculty & Staff
Advanced Courses
Calculus
Not offered in 2021-21Computer Science
Physics
Not offered in 2021-21Advanced Foreign Language
AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science
AP/IB Math or Science
Music
College Readiness
Programs & Admissions
From the 2024 High School DirectoryCollege and University Transitional Seminar (X42A)
Program Description:
Our early college awareness program helps students explore at an early age the academic, social, financial, and personal rewards of college and to address their areas of concern and build on their strengths. In order to facilitate our mission of college preparation, all juniors and seniors are invited to participate in SAT prep courses. A college advisor and guidance staff direct students from 9-12th grade in facilitating college awareness and understanding the application process.
Offerings
From the 2024 High School DirectoryLanguage Courses
Spanish
Advanced Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, AP United States History, Arts (College Course [Credited]), Calculus (Advanced Placement), Comp Sci/Math Tech (College Course [Credited]), Other (College Course [Credited]), Social Studies (College Course [Credited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Swimming, Volleyball
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Volleyball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
500 East Fordham Road
Bronx
NY
10458
Trains: , to Fordham Rd
Buses: Bx1, Bx12, Bx12-SBS, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx2, Bx22, Bx28, Bx34, Bx38, Bx41, Bx41-SBS, Bx9, BxM4
Contact
Other Details
This school shares the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus with five other schools
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