Renaissance Charter School

ELA proficiency at 65.4% runs about five points above the district average of 60.7%, and the trajectory is the more striking story: Renaissance has lifted ELA from 38.1% in 2016 to 65.4% in 2025, with steady gains since 2022. Math at 57.1% sits below the district average of 62.2%, and the school's math scores have seesawed over the years — a low of 37.8% in 2022 and a high of 62.2% in 2018. The grade-by-grade picture tells its own tale, with third graders posting strong 76.7% ELA and 83.3% math proficiency, then both subjects drifting downward through middle school, where eighth-grade math falls to 44.6%.

Parents clearly feel heard here: 96% trust teachers, 93% trust the principal, and 100% report strong teacher relationships, all well above district norms. But teachers tell a more complicated story — 91% trust their colleagues while only 73% trust school leadership, and teacher-reported safety at 85% runs nearly ten points below the district average of 95%. The 84.3% chronic absenteeism rate is striking: more than four out of five students miss 10% or more of school days, even though overall attendance is 94.3%, suggesting a small core of students with severe attendance struggles pulling the figure up.

Renaissance's student body is 73% Hispanic and 17% Asian, with smaller shares of Black (3%), White (6%), and multiracial (2%) students — a profile that mirrors Jackson Heights' long-standing identity as a Latino and South Asian stronghold. The diversity index of 49% reflects this concentration rather than wide racial spread, and 64% of students qualify for economic need, in line with the neighborhood's working- and middle-class mix. About 15% of students have IEPs, and with 668 students across 13 grades, the school reads as a tight-knit community where many families stay from pre-K through senior year.

Jackson Heights is one of the most densely settled family neighborhoods in New York, though the 17.4% of households with children under 18 here is closer to the citywide norm than the neighborhood's reputation suggests, and reflects a mix of long-time families and newer arrivals. Median household income of roughly $72,800 and a 13.9% poverty rate point to a working- and middle-class community, while a 32% bachelor's-degree rate and a 40% homeownership rate show a mix of renters putting down roots. The neighborhood's signature is its immigrant energy — Jackson Heights is famously home to one of the largest and most diverse immigrant populations in the country, and the area around the school reflects that.

Families have it easy: the 82 St-Jackson Heights station on the 7 line is about a four-minute walk, the 74 St-Broadway 7 train stop is about nine minutes away, and the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue hub for the E, F, M, and R trains is also about nine minutes on foot.