Pelham Gardens Middle School

Pelham Gardens is a safe and welcoming school, where students say they feel supported by their teachers and their peers. The school gets high marks from the city in its recent Quality Review for establishing a positive school culture.

Students participate in small advisory groups led by a teacher where they discuss topics relating to their academic and social-emotional needs. Each class elects two students to be their advocates. In addition to representing their class’s needs to administrators, class advocates take the lead on discussions during advisory sessions and model good behavior for their peers.

A majority of students say they learn a lot and get feedback from their teachers, according to the NYC School Survey.

Many students arrive performing below grade level and miss at least a month of school. To support struggling learners, Pelham Gardens participates in the Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI), the city’s program designed to boost students’ reading levels with a longer school day and extra supports like small group and after-school tutoring.

In classes, it’s common to find students working together in small groups for a big chunk of their lessons, according to the Quality Review. Teachers also build in time for class discussions, such as 8th-graders discussing the use of foreshadowing in the novel, Of Mice and Men.

Students up to the challenge may earn high school credit by taking the Regents exams in algebra and living environment.  

Incoming students attend a two-day “boot camp” in the summer where they meet their teachers, make new friends and participate in activities that help ease their transition to middle school.

In addition to sports, choir and some clubs, students may participate in a range of after-school activities run through a partnership with ASPIRA, an organization that supports Latinx communities. To help them set long-term goals, students participate in field trips to college campuses.

Pelham Gardens shares a building with JHS 144 and the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning II.

ADMISSIONS: Open to students and residents of District 11 with priority to students living in the school’s zone. Typically the school has space for students from across District 11. (Laura Zingmond, web reports, July 2019)