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Belmont Preparatory High School

Grades: 9-12
Staff Pick for Special Ed Noteworthy

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)

School Stats

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
98%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
95%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
92%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
26%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

391
Number of students
624 Citywide Average

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
86%
Students with disabilities
 
23%
Multilingual learners
 
11%
From the 2020-21 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
1%
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?
 
96%
15.2
Years of principal experience at this school
7 Citywide Average
120
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
157 Citywide Average

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
100%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2020-21 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 NY State Report Card, 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

 
6%

Computer Science

 
11%

Physics

Not offered in 2019-20

Advanced Foreign Language

 
8%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
29%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
24%

Music

 
7%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2019-20 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?
 
62%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
55%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
69%
From the 2020-21 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
How many graduates of this school received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
42%
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2014 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2021 High School Directory

College and University Transitional Seminar

Admissions Method: Screened

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 2021 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Placement (AP) courses

AP English Language and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP World History: Modern, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, 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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

500 East Fordham Road
Bronx NY 10458

Trains: B Line, D Line to Fordham Rd

Buses: Bx1, Bx12, Bx12-SBS, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx2, Bx22, Bx28, Bx34, Bx38, Bx41, Bx41-SBS, Bx9, BxM4


Contact

Principal: Stephen Gumbs

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus with five other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? Yes

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