LEEP Dual Language Academy Charter School

Math proficiency of 64.8% edges out the district average of 63.3%, while ELA at 58.2% sits about 7 points below the district's 65.5% — meaning students here are roughly on par in math but still catching up in literacy. The trajectory is the more interesting story: ELA cratered from 54.8% in 2022 to 35.8% in 2024 before leaping back to 58.2% in 2025, and math followed a similar V-shape. That's a lot of volatility for parents to weigh — the most recent year is the strongest, but the three-year pattern shows real swings.

The day-to-day feel here is unusually warm: 99% of teachers report the school is safe (versus 97% district-wide), and teacher trust in the principal (96%) and instructional quality (96%) both beat district averages by a wide margin. Parent-teacher and parent-principal trust are also at 96% and 95% — rare numbers that suggest genuine two-way communication. The catch is the attendance picture: average attendance is a healthy 95.6% (above the district's 93.5%), yet 90% of students are flagged as chronically absent, a startlingly high figure worth asking the school to explain.

Eight in ten students are Hispanic, with smaller shares of White (7%), Black (6%), and Asian (4%) students — a body that mirrors the surrounding Sunset Park neighborhood far more closely than a citywide average would. With an economic need index of 79 (out of 100), the school serves a predominantly working-class population, and 16% of students have IEPs, slightly above the city norm. The diversity index of 38% reflects the demographic concentration rather than a wide mix of backgrounds.

Sunset Park's central blocks around the school are a working-class, family-dense pocket: median household income sits near $61,000, about a quarter of households have kids at home, and roughly one in five adults has a bachelor's degree. Homeownership is low (around 26%), reflecting the rental-heavy character of the area, even as median home values stretch past $1 million. It's the kind of neighborhood where many families are first- or second-generation New Yorkers raising children in multi-generational households.

The school is genuinely easy to reach by subway — the 53 St R stop is about a 4-minute walk, 59 St (N, R) is around 7 minutes, and 45 St (R) is about 9 minutes away, putting the school squarely on the R-line corridor through Sunset Park.