At a Glance
A Modern Orthodox upper school where an unusually intimate classroom is paired with a Hebrew-and-English dual curriculum.
Best suited for
Modern Orthodox Jewish families — or those exploring a Jewish day school education — who want an intimate, academically serious secondary experience where religious identity, intellectual rigor, and communal responsibility reinforce one another.
What stands out
- The 4:1 student-teacher ratio is exceptionally intimate for a secondary school, allowing for genuine seminar-style discussion and close faculty mentorship.
- The dual curriculum integrates general academic rigor — including AP Calculus BC, Computer Science A, English Language, and Statistics — with Judaic studies taught in Hebrew.
- The 12th-grade Poland and Israel trip is a signature senior-year experience, tying Jewish history, identity, and contemporary Israel into a formative journey.
- Community service (chesed) is woven into the school's culture rather than treated as an extracurricular add-on.
- At 267 students total, the school functions more like a small college program than a typical urban high school.
Things to consider
- Tuition sits at $39,580 — at the higher end of NYC private school pricing, and worth weighing against financial aid availability.
- Religious identity is central to daily life: families should expect Hebrew-language coursework, Shabbat-observant scheduling norms, and a faith-centered culture throughout the school day.
- The student body is demographically narrow, reflecting the school's Modern Orthodox community rather than a broad cross-section of New York families.
- Rolling admissions offer flexibility, but spots can fill unpredictably — strong interest means applying sooner rather than later is wise.
- Smaller enrollment means fewer elective pathways, niche clubs, or athletic teams than larger peer schools.
Identity
Founded as part of a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school tradition, RAMAZ Upper School serves grades 9 through 12 as a coeducational secondary program. Its core identity is the dual curriculum — rigorous general academics taught in English alongside Judaic studies in Hebrew — designed to produce graduates who are both college-ready and deeply rooted in Jewish life, scholarship, and responsibility to community.
Community
The student body reflects the school's Modern Orthodox community: about 93.6% of students identify as white, with Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and multiracial students each representing roughly 1-2% of enrollment. This isn't incidental — it's a school intentionally serving a religious community, and the demographic narrowness flows from that mission rather than from selectivity by race or class.
Neighborhood
The school sits in Carnegie Hill, one of Manhattan's wealthiest enclaves, where median household income is nearly $198,000 and over 84% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The streets around the school are lined with landmark townhouses, museums, and quiet blocks that feel far removed from Midtown bustle — a setting that has long drawn affluent Orthodox Jewish families to the Upper East Side.
The 77 St station on the 6 line is about a three-minute walk, making the Lexington Avenue subway the workhorse commute; the 72 St Q stop and 68 St-Hunter College 6 stop are each roughly ten minutes on foot for families coming from other directions.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Parents expressed mixed feelings about COVID protocols but generally felt the school worked hard to maintain safety; appreciated the administration's efforts to balance health concerns with in-person learning
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades 9 to 12 in Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill.
- What grades does RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL serve?
- RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL?
- RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL public, charter, or private?
- RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL is a private school.
- What neighborhood is RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL in?
- RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL is in Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Manhattan.