47 The American Sign Language and English Secondary School

The school sits in a District 2 ecosystem where peers post proficiency rates in the 70s and beyond, but this school's academic profile leans more on what it offers than on standardized outcomes in the data provided. AP Courses and a Humanities track anchor the program, with ELL Support and American Sign Language as the main curriculum. A program richness score of 53.9 out of 100 is moderate — expect a focused, not sprawling, course catalog. The 25.8 average class size is right at the district average of about 25.8, so class size isn't a draw here, but small total enrollment (236 students across four grades) means students likely get to know their teachers well.

The day-to-day feel is calm and orderly — zero suspensions across three consecutive years (2021-22 through 2023-24) puts this well below the District 2 average of about 0.30%. Parents are nearly unanimous in their satisfaction (100%) and trust in both teachers (99%) and the principal (99%), which is striking. The flip side is a real disconnect with the teachers: only 49% of teachers report trust in the principal, and just 77% rate instruction quality as strong — both well below the district averages of about 96% and 90% respectively. Only 18 teachers responded to the survey, so the sample is thin, but the gap between parent enthusiasm and staff concern is worth asking about directly. Teacher collegial trust is healthier at 74%, suggesting the staff get along with each other even if leadership relationships are strained.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (74%) and Black (19%), with very small Asian and White populations — a sharp contrast to the Gramercy neighborhood around the school, where the census shows high household incomes and high college-attainment rates. With 83% economic need index and 25% of students classified as IEP, this is a school where many students come from households with real financial pressure, and a sizable share navigate learning differences. Twenty-five percent IEP is meaningfully above typical high school levels and signals robust special-education services. Students almost certainly travel in from across the borough, since the surrounding neighborhood has only 10% of households with children.

Gramercy is one of Manhattan's wealthier residential pockets, with a median household income of about $153,847, a poverty rate of 10.8%, and a striking 83.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Only 10% of households here have children, which partly explains why a high school in this area draws students from well beyond the immediate blocks. Homeownership is 39.6% and the median home value is over $900,000, so the area skews toward established professionals and longtime owners rather than young families. The school reads as a citywide screened program that happens to sit in a family-light, high-income enclave.

The 23 St-Baruch College stop on the 6 line is the closest, about a 6-minute walk; the 28 St stop on the 6 is around 8 minutes, and the 3 Av L stop is roughly 10 minutes away