Emma Lazarus High School

Emma Lazarus's academic identity is shaped by its scale and its student population. With 275 students spread across four grades and 70% of students on IEPs, the school is structured for individualized support rather than standardized whole-cohort benchmarks. Class size sits near the district average at about 26, so instruction is necessarily close and tailored to each student.

The climate data is unusually strong across every measure: 100% of teachers rated instructional quality positively, parent-principal trust is at 98%, and the school logged zero suspensions in the data year. The 87% family survey response rate signals that families are highly engaged rather than disconnected from school life. With a school this small, the day-to-day feel is less institutional and more relational — students are known by name and discipline is essentially a non-issue.

Emma Lazarus's student body is 44% Hispanic, 33% Asian, 18% Black, and 5% White — a mix that mirrors the surrounding Chinatown-Two Bridges neighborhood's immigrant and working-class character. The neighborhood has a median household income around $35,443 and a 33% poverty rate, with just 10% of households owning their homes. The school's 70% IEP rate is far above the citywide norm, making it a distinctive fit for students with individualized learning plans.

Chinatown-Two Bridges is a densely populated, working-class stretch of Lower Manhattan defined by rental housing and modest incomes — only 10% of households own their homes, the median household income is around $35,443, and roughly a third of residents live below the poverty line. About 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, well below the Manhattan average. Schools in this corridor serve predominantly immigrant and working-class families, and Emma Lazarus sits squarely in that fabric.

Subway access is unusually plentiful — Grand St (B, D) is about a 3-minute walk, with Bowery (J, Z) and East Broadway (F) each roughly 6 minutes away.