KIPP S.T.A.R. College Preparatory Charter School

KIPP S.T.A.R. is a clear outperformer in District 5. ELA proficiency of 72.5% sits nearly 19 points above the district average of 53.9%, and math proficiency of 73.8% is more than 23 points above the district's 50.7%. The trend is striking: ELA has risen from 45.1% in 2016 to 72.5% in 2025 — a 27-point climb — while math has moved from 53.4% to 73.8%. The overall rating of 2.93 out of 4 compares favorably to the district average of 2.09. The picture isn't perfectly even — 3rd and 4th graders post exceptional results (90.8% ELA, 96.9% math for 3rd; 84% ELA, 94.7% math for 4th), but 5th grade math drops to 50.5%, suggesting some turbulence as students move up. By middle school, math rebounds (86% in 7th grade), but families should expect grade-level variation.

The culture signals here are mixed in ways worth understanding. Parents are notably happy: 94% parent satisfaction and 89% parent-teacher and parent-principal trust both run above district norms. Teachers rate instruction quality at 88% — right at the district mean — but teacher trust in leadership is softer, with teacher-principal trust at 75% and teacher collegial trust at just 71%. That gap between parent enthusiasm and teacher sentiment is worth weighing. Discipline data isn't surfaced in this profile, so there's no signal on suspension trends. The most important number here is chronic absenteeism at 59.3% — meaning nearly six in ten students miss enough school to be flagged. That's a serious concern, even though daily attendance (89.5%) is just above the district average of 88.6%. White students show the highest chronic absence rate at 76.5%, though that subgroup is small (about 1% of enrollment).

The student body is predominantly Black (53%) and Hispanic (42%), with small shares of Asian, white, multiracial, and Native American students. The diversity index is 51%, reflecting that the school is racially concentrated rather than evenly mixed. The economic need index of 84.8% means most students come from low-income families, and 24% of students have IEPs — a substantial inclusion population that signals real commitment to serving students with disabilities. The neighborhood around the school, by contrast, is 70.8% college-educated with a median household income of $97,124, so the school serves a more economically disadvantaged population than its immediate surroundings. Only 12.1% of Morningside Heights households have children, which is part of why the school draws from a wider catchment than just the census tract.

Morningside Heights is a neighborhood defined by renters and graduate-student energy — only 21.9% of households own, the median home value is around $992,000, and 70.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income is $97,124 with a 22.9% poverty rate, so it's economically mixed despite the high education numbers. Just 12.1% of households include children, which is part of why schools here tend to serve families from a broader area. The neighborhood sits near Columbia University and the northern edge of Harlem, with strong subway access making it workable for commuting families from across Manhattan and the Bronx.

The school has solid transit access: the 125 St station on the A, C, B, and D lines is about a four-minute walk, the 125 St 1 train stop is about eight minutes away, and the 116 St C and B station is also about an eight-minute walk.