Cypress Hills Ascend Charter School

This is the strongest part of the school's story. ELA proficiency sits at 63.1% and math at 72.4%, both well above the district averages of roughly 49% and 48% respectively. The overall quality review score of 2.71 out of 4 also significantly outpaces the district's 1.94. The trajectory is striking: in 2022, only about a third of students were meeting standards in either subject; by 2025, that figure has roughly doubled. Math is the clear strength — every grade tested posted between 69% and 78% proficiency, with seventh graders leading at 78%. ELA is more uneven, dipping to the high 50s in fifth and seventh grade and climbing back into the high 60s in third and fourth grade.

The day-to-day picture is mixed. Attendance is excellent at 94.6%, well above the district average of roughly 90%, which suggests families who get here keep showing up. However, chronic absenteeism is reported at 85.2% — an extremely high figure that signals many students are missing enough school to be flagged, even as the overall attendance rate looks healthy (these metrics measure different things, and both can be true). Parent satisfaction lands at 66.4%, meaningfully below the district average of about 91%, which is worth weighing. Teacher-reported instruction quality is 81.8%, a few points below the district norm. No teacher-reported safety or suspension data is available, so the full climate picture is incomplete.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (72%), followed by Black (16%) and Asian (7%) students, with very small White and other populations. This mirrors the surrounding East New York-City Line neighborhood closely, where the census shows a working-class, family-rooted community with a 27.2% poverty rate and a median household income around $50,860. The economic need index of 80.9% confirms most families here qualify for economic assistance, and 15% of students have IEPs.

East New York-City Line is a working-class corner of Brooklyn where most households rent (homeownership is just 21.4%), median incomes hover around $50,860, and roughly 27% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 17.2% of households include children, and just 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, which is well below the city average. The area is family-rooted but economically tight, and the median home value of around $609,000 reflects rising prices even in a lower-income part of the borough.

Three subway options sit within about ten minutes: the A at Grant Avenue (7-minute walk), the J/Z at Crescent Street (8-minute walk), and the A/C at Euclid Avenue (10-minute walk).