Achievement First East New York Charter School

Achievement First East New York's 61% ELA proficiency and 53.5% math proficiency both clear the District 19 averages of about 49% and 48%, respectively, by a real margin. The trajectory is genuinely worth noting: both subjects cratered in 2022 (ELA 48%, math 46%), and the school has spent three years clawing back. This year's math dip to 53.5% from 63% last year tempers the ELA recovery story a bit. The split by grade is striking — third and fourth graders look like a different school than eighth graders, with Grade 4 ELA at 74% and Grade 8 math at just 16.7%. Science proficiency at 39% trails the math/ELA picture, consistent with what you see network-wide.

Two numbers tell opposite sides of the climate story. The parent satisfaction, parent-teacher trust, and parent-principal trust scores (98%, 98%, 100%) are remarkably high — well above the district averages of 91% on satisfaction and 92% on safety — and teachers rate instruction quality at 94% versus an 88% district average. Attendance itself is decent at 91%, also above the district's 90%. But the chronic absenteeism rate is 66%, meaning two out of three students are missing enough school to be flagged — a daily-life reality that no survey score can mask. Both Hispanic (69%) and Black (65%) students are chronically absent at similarly high rates, so this is a community-wide pattern, not a subgroup story.

About 61% of students identify as Black and 35% as Hispanic, with very small Asian, white, multiracial, and Native American populations — a fairly homogeneous student body by NYC standards, reflected in the 45% diversity index. That mix tracks closely with the surrounding East New York-New Lots neighborhood, where Black and Hispanic households make up the vast majority of residents. Three-quarters of students qualify as economically needy (the 74.7 economic need index is well above the city average), and 13% have IEPs, in line with the district. In plain terms: this is a school serving the community that surrounds it, with very few students commuting in from outside the immediate area.

East New York-New Lots is a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where the median household income is about $58,000, roughly 23% of residents live below the poverty line, and only 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Homeownership is under 30%, with most families renting, and only about 11% of households include children under 18 — a fairly adult-skewed area. The $605,000 median home value looks high for the income level but reflects Brooklyn's market more than local wealth. Getting around is one of the easier parts of the deal here, with multiple subway options right at the school's doorstep.

Three subway stops are within walking distance: Pennsylvania Avenue on the 3 train is about a 2-minute walk, Van Siclen Avenue on the 3 train is around 5 minutes, and Livonia Avenue on the L is roughly 8 minutes away.