At a Glance
A small Brooklyn charter that bounced back from pandemic lows to outscore its district by 20+ points
Best suited for
Families in East New York who want a small, leadership-focused PK-8 charter with strong academics and are ready to prioritize getting their child to school every day — and who can win the lottery.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Post-pandemic rebound: ELA proficiency jumped from 43.5% in 2022 to 76.3% in 2025 — one of the sharpest recoveries in the data
- Outpaces District 23 averages by 20+ points in both ELA and math proficiency
- 100% of teachers who responded rated instruction quality highly — a striking endorsement of the school's academic program
- Small PK-8 charter with a leadership-themed identity, allowing students to stay in one building from early childhood through middle school
- Strong results at grade transitions — 90.5% ELA in grade 3 and 84% math in grade 8
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 43.4% is a serious concern — it's the school's biggest weakness despite glowing survey responses
- Admissions is a charter lottery, so a spot isn't guaranteed even for families in the neighborhood
- The teacher survey had only 20 responses, so the 100% instruction-quality rating reflects a small sample rather than the full staff
- Enrollment of 262 means fewer peer connections and less program variety than larger schools can offer
- Diversity index of 36% means students won't see much demographic variety among classmates
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 23
Imagine Me sits comfortably above its District 23 peers with an overall score of 2.93/4 versus the district average of 2.06/4, and outpaces them on both ELA and math proficiency by 20+ points. Among the charter and traditional schools in the area, it's a clear standout on academics.
Academics
ELA proficiency of 76.3% and math proficiency of 70% both run roughly 20 points above the District 23 averages of 52.2% and 50.5%. The trajectory is the real story — after a steep post-pandemic dip in 2022 (43.5% ELA, 41% math), scores have climbed steadily back, with ELA making a remarkable 20-point jump between 2024 and 2025. Grade 3 leads the way at 90.5% ELA and grade 8 math hits 84%, showing strength at both ends of the elementary-to-middle-school arc.
Culture
The survey numbers are unusually sunny: 95% parent satisfaction, 100% rating teacher instruction quality highly, and 93% of teachers saying the school feels safe. But attendance tells a different story — 84.9% is below the 88.6% district average, and chronic absenteeism at 43.4% means more than 4 in 10 students miss enough school to be flagged. The split between strong engagement on surveys and weak day-to-day attendance is the most important thing parents should understand about the school's climate.
Community
The student body is 80% Black and 16% Hispanic, with an economic need index of 71.3 signaling that most families are working-class. The school's diversity index of 36% reflects demographic concentration rather than mix — students will mostly share a common background. IEP enrollment at 15% is roughly in line with what you'd expect for a school serving this community.
Neighborhood
East New York-New Lots is a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where median household income sits around $58,000 and just over a fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Homeownership is low at 29% and only about 1 in 10 households have kids at home, which shapes what the blocks around the school feel like during school hours. Median home value around $605,000 reflects rising prices in pockets of East Brooklyn even as incomes stay modest.
Families have three 3-train options: New Lots Av about a 9-minute walk, Van Siclen Av about 10 minutes, and Pennsylvania Av about 14 minutes.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 126 families responded (44% rate)
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Economic Need & Special Populations
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Imagine Me Leadership Charter School a good school?
- On Motley, Imagine Me Leadership Charter School earns an overall rating of 73/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run above the District 23 average.
- What grades does Imagine Me Leadership Charter School serve?
- Imagine Me Leadership Charter School serves grades Pre-K to 8.
- How do students get into Imagine Me Leadership Charter School?
- Imagine Me Leadership Charter School is a charter school — it admits through a free public lottery, with no test or attendance zone.
- Is Imagine Me Leadership Charter School public, charter, or private?
- Imagine Me Leadership Charter School is a public charter school in NYC Community School District 23.
- What neighborhood is Imagine Me Leadership Charter School in?
- Imagine Me Leadership Charter School is in East New York-New Lots, Brooklyn.