1
Alumni: what's one memory from PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
638
Elementary
DISTRICT 471 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10·NCES 360008700183
PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR
2100 WALTON AVE, BRONX, NY 10453 · (718) 584-6004 · Bronx County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL638 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.7:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.3:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
622 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 58%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NYS Assessments 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4)English Language Arts
50.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +8.0pp since 2023
Math
57.0%
NY avg 57.4% . +6.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New York schools, those numbers are about 58 and 57. Reading and writing scores are up about 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Source: NYS Assessments. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
50.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.1%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% typical for New York schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New York's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
638
-449 (-41%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
10.7:1
was 14.1:1
% White
1%
was 0%
% Hispanic
80%
was 79%
% Black
16%
was 16%
% Asian
2%
was 4%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR
Located at 2100 WALTON AVE, in BRONX, New York, PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR is a mid-tier elementary campus that instructs 638 students (grades K through 8), part of NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10. Enrollment runs roughly 44% bigger than the state mean of about 443.
NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10 runs 83 schools in total, collectively educating 40,459 students. PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR is one of those campuses.
On demographics, PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR records that nearly all students (80%) are Hispanic. The remainder breaks down as 16% Black. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 55%.
In terms of school funding signals, On paper, PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR has 60 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.7:1. The state averages around 12.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 97% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 39.1%; this one delivers 50.9%.
In the area at large, census data for Bronx County shows median household earnings sit near $48,676, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 23%. PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR is one of 472 public schools in Bronx County (combined enrollment of about 202,028 students).
The closest other public school is CRESTON ACADEMY, roughly 0.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR. On composite proficiency, PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 37.2%.
Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR has fell 41%, going from 1,087 students in 2018 to 638 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.1:1 in 2018 to 10.7:1 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Bronx County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,404,779
Census ACS
Median income
$48,676
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
472
202,028 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10
- BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE (THE)High · 2,953 students
- RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY (MS/HS 141)High · 1,383 students
- DEWITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,212 students
- PS 86 KINGSBRIDGE HEIGHTSElementary · 1,091 students
- IN-TECH ACADEMY (MS/HS 368)High · 953 students
- PS 95 SHEILA MENCHERElementary · 851 students
Other schools in BRONX
- BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE (THE)High · 2,953 students
- KIPP BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL IIICombined · 2,390 students
- HARRY S TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,650 students
- ATMOSPHERE ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLHigh · 1,481 students
- PS 83 DONALD HERTZElementary · 1,451 students
- RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY (MS/HS 141)High · 1,383 students
Nearby schools
- CRESTON ACADEMY0.1 mi · 418
- SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP0.1 mi · 557
- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR MATH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY0.1 mi · 227
- KIPP FREEDOM CHARTER SCHOOL0.2 mi · 615
- PS 910.3 mi · 354
- IS 206 ANN MERSEREAU0.3 mi · 229
Frequently asked questions
About PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JRHow large is PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR?
PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR enrolls approximately 638 students in grades KG-08.
What grades does PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR serve?
PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR serves grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR?
The student-to-teacher ratio at PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR is approximately 10.7:1 (60 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR?
At PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR, the student body is approximately 1% White, 80% Hispanic, 16% Black, 2% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Is PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR public or private?
PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR is a public K-12 school, overseen by NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.