At a Glance
A small humanities high school with near-perfect teacher trust — and 64 seats for 2,200 applicants
Best suited for
Families — including those from outside the immediate neighborhood — who want a small, humanities-focused, unscreened high school with a calm environment and are comfortable entering a competitive lottery for a seat.
What stands out
- Zero suspensions — well below the district average — points to a remarkably calm, well-managed environment.
- 99% of teachers rate their colleagues' instruction as high quality, far above the district average near 90%.
- Despite being unscreened, 2,202 applicants competed for 64 seats — a 2.9% offer rate that's extraordinarily competitive for a non-selective school.
- A surprisingly broad athletic menu that includes badminton, bowling, table tennis, and wrestling alongside the usual team sports.
- Humanities focus paired with ELL support, French, and Spanish — a thoughtful fit for the neighborhood's linguistic mix.
Things to consider
- No school-specific ELA, math, or science proficiency scores are in this dataset — ask the school for state test results when you visit.
- Economic need index of 62.5% means most students come from low- to moderate-income households; this is not a school filtering for affluence.
- PTA fundraising ($430 per student) trails the district average (about $516), which can mean fewer parent-funded enrichment extras.
- Only 6.5% of neighborhood households include children, so the surrounding blocks feel mostly adult — fewer peer families in the immediate area.
- Average class size of 25.8 is essentially the district average, so don't expect the small-class feel of a screened school.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 2
District 2 includes some of the city's most sought-after screened schools (Lower Lab, Success Academy Union Square, P.S. 290), but Essex Street Academy occupies a different lane: it's unscreened, humanities-focused, and competes on teacher culture and calm environment rather than selectivity. It won't top an overall rating list, but its zero-suspension record and near-perfect teacher trust set it apart from the typical large urban high school.
Academics
State test proficiency numbers aren't included in this dataset for Essex Street Academy, so a direct comparison to district averages (73% ELA, 73% math) isn't possible from the available data. The school's humanities focus and ELL support suggest an emphasis on reading, writing, and discussion across subjects, and a 99% teacher instruction quality rating implies strong classroom practice — but parents should ask the school directly for state test results on a visit.
Culture
Zero suspensions is the headline here — the school reports no suspensions at all, well below the district average suspension rate of 0.3%. Teacher culture is the other standout: 99% of teachers rate their colleagues' instruction as high quality (compared to a district average near 90%), and 99% report collegial trust with each other. Parent satisfaction sits at 92%, essentially matching the district average, with parent-principal trust at 97% — meaning families who respond feel genuinely heard. The day-to-day feel here is calm and teacher-driven.
Community
Hispanic students make up 42% of enrollment, Black students 26%, White students 20%, and Asian students 7% — a diversity index of 74%. The economic need index of 62.5% indicates most students come from low- to moderate-income households, and 26% of students have IEPs, a higher share than at many screened schools. The surrounding Lower East Side has a median household income of about $58,000, a 23% poverty rate, and 44% of adults with a bachelor's degree — so the school draws from a mixed-income, immigrant-rooted community where most families rent.
Neighborhood
The Lower East Side is one of Manhattan's most historically diverse, working-class neighborhoods, with a median household income of about $58,000 and a 23% poverty rate. Only about 6.5% of neighborhood households include children, meaning most residents are either young adults or older longtime residents — a feature families should know, because it shapes the block-level feel of the area. Homeownership is low (23%) and rents are high, reflecting the gentrification pressure on what was once a heavily immigrant and rent-controlled neighborhood.
The school is about a 3-minute walk from the Delancey St-Essex St station (F, M, J, Z lines) and about 6 minutes from East Broadway (F).
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 196 families responded (54% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
We provide a supportive, performance-based, college-preparatory program for all students. Please visit our school website for tour and open house dates.
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. Essex Street Academy admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Essex Street AcademyUnscreened
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.
- 2Unscreened programs fill by random lottery among the families who rank them.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Essex Street Academy a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for Essex Street Academy yet on Motley. It's a public school serving grades 9 to 12 in Lower East Side.
- What grades does Essex Street Academy serve?
- Essex Street Academy serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Essex Street Academy?
- Essex Street Academy admits by application through a random lottery, with no academic screen.
- Is Essex Street Academy public, charter, or private?
- Essex Street Academy is a public school in NYC Community School District 2.
- What neighborhood is Essex Street Academy in?
- Essex Street Academy is in Lower East Side, Manhattan.