Bronx Aerospace High School cut chronic absenteeism by 34 points. How?

Two things stand out. First, the big drop is between 2018-19 and 2020-21 — the COVID transition. Many schools saw their measured absenteeism fall during remote learning because the underlying definition shifted. Second, enrollment shrank by half between 2018 and 2022 (336 students to 169), then doubled to 401 in 2024-25 — a new wave of students just arrived. Whether the recent uptick to 33% absenteeism is a sign of regression or just new-student adjustment is too early to call.

The four-year graduation rate climbed from 66% in 2018-19 to 87% in 2022-23. The school is doing better academically, not just on the attendance measure. Teacher 'would recommend' rates climbed from 70% in 2021-22 to 73.5% in 2023-24 — modest but stable. Parent satisfaction has held at 96-97% throughout.

Bronx Aerospace serves a student body that has stayed steady: 85-88% economically disadvantaged, 14-18% English Language Learners, 22-28% students with disabilities. It has been in challenge group 8 throughout. The student population isn't shifting in a way that would explain the change. A school in the same neighborhood is doing materially better than it used to.

Three plausible contributors, in rough order of likely importance. First, the definitional shift in chronic absenteeism during and after COVID — the school's pre-pandemic 67% rate likely reflected administrative practices that have since changed. Second, real instructional improvement after 2020, supported by the graduation-rate climb. Third, enrollment selection — the 50% enrollment drop between 2018 and 2022 likely meant the most-disengaged students transferred out, leaving a higher-attending core.