At a Glance
A tiny, wildly popular humanities high school in Elmhurst where nearly every family feels heard.
Best suited for
Families — especially those new to the city or to English — who want a humanities-oriented, small high school with strong ELL support and are willing to play the screened admissions lottery.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- A 7.7% offer rate — among the most selective screener high schools in Queens
- Zero suspensions reported, against a district average of 0.175%
- 99% parent trust in both teachers and the principal, with a 76% family survey response rate
- Robust ELL support paired with AP and humanities tracks that fit the student body
- 90/100 program richness, with unusual electives like Comic Book Club, Chess Club, and Glee Club
Things to consider
- PTA fundraising is just $1 per student versus a district average of $32 — parent dollars aren't translating into enrichment here
- Teacher-reported instruction quality is 87%, noticeably below the district's 91.7%
- High economic need index (80) means most families are navigating real financial pressure alongside school life
- The 7.7% offer rate means admission is essentially a lottery among prepared applicants — strong middle school records matter, but there's no guarantee
- As a screened school, families should weigh the commute: it's roughly a 9–11 minute walk from any subway stop
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 24
District 24's secondary options include Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Secondary School for Arts and Technology; among its peer set, Civic Leadership's selectivity and near-perfect parent satisfaction make it one of the more sought-after public high schools in the area.
Academics
Civic Leadership Academy offers AP courses, a dedicated humanities track, and ELL support — a curriculum that visibly fits a student body that's 73% Hispanic and 16% Asian, many navigating English as a second language. School-specific proficiency outcomes aren't broken out in the data we have, but the 7.7% offer rate signals the school is pulling from a deep, prepared applicant pool. Program richness scores 90/100, putting its elective and club catalog well above a typical District 24 high school.
Culture
The trust numbers here are striking: 99% of parents trust the principal and their child's teacher, 97% of teachers trust the principal, and the school reports zero suspensions in a district where the typical rate is 0.175%. The 76% family survey response rate — well above typical — shows parents aren't just satisfied, they're engaged. Teacher-reported instruction quality is 87%, below the district's 91.7%, which is worth probing on a tour.
Community
The student body is 73% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 4% Black, and 4% White, with a diversity index of 45% that mirrors Elmhurst's broader immigrant character. With an economic need index of 80, most students come from households that qualify for additional support, and 17% have IEPs. The surrounding neighborhood — median household income around $68,000, 23.5% of households with kids — is built around working- and middle-class families, many of them first- or second-generation immigrants.
Neighborhood
Elmhurst is one of Queens' most family-dense and immigrant-rich neighborhoods, with a median household income of $68,354 and roughly 30% of adults holding a bachelor's degree. About a quarter of households include children, and homeownership sits at 26.6%, so most families around the school rent apartments rather than own. It's a community where many households navigate English as a second language and rely on the busy commercial strips along Broadway and Roosevelt for daily life.
The school is about a 9-minute walk from either the Junction Blvd or 90 St-Elmhurst Av stop on the 7 line, and roughly 11 minutes from the Grand Av-Newtown station on the M and R.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 413 families responded (76% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Civic Leadership Academy admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Civic Leadership AcademyEd. Opt.
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
Open house
Wed, Nov 18, · 6:00 PM · Virtual
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Civic Leadership Academy a good school?
- On Motley, Civic Leadership Academy earns an overall rating of 69/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Civic Leadership Academy serve?
- Civic Leadership Academy serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Civic Leadership Academy?
- Civic Leadership Academy uses the Educational Option (Ed-Opt) method, ranking applicants across performance levels so seats go to a mix of abilities.
- Is Civic Leadership Academy public, charter, or private?
- Civic Leadership Academy is a public school in NYC Community School District 24.
- What neighborhood is Civic Leadership Academy in?
- Civic Leadership Academy is in Elmhurst, Queens.