Success Academy Charter School - Bensonhurst

Both ELA (92.1%) and math (97%) proficiency dwarf District 21 averages (60% and 63%), and math has stayed in the high 90s for nearly a decade — that's near the ceiling of what any NYC elementary posts. ELA has been more volatile, dipping from 95.8% in 2019 into the mid-to-high 80s through 2022–2024 before bouncing back to 92.1% in 2025. The 2025 rebound suggests the dip was a COVID-era wobble, not a structural slide; either way, the school is firmly among Brooklyn's top-performing elementaries.

Attendance runs at 93.1%, modestly above the district's 91.2% — but 77.5% of students are chronically absent, meaning most kids miss enough school to be flagged under the city's threshold. That's a real concern for parents to weigh. On surveys, parent satisfaction (77.2%) and teacher-reported instruction quality (87.6%) both run below district averages of 92.2% and 92.6%, though the family survey had essentially no responses, so that number should be read with caution.

The student body is 58% White, 25% Asian, 10% Hispanic, and 6% Black — a notably different mix from most District 21 schools, which tend to draw larger Black and Hispanic populations. About 12% of students have IEPs and the economic need index sits at 59.9, meaning a clear majority qualify for free or reduced lunch. Bensonhurst itself skews heavily Asian and White, with a 17.4% poverty rate and a homeownership rate under a third, so most families around here rent.

Bensonhurst is one of Brooklyn's classic immigrant gateway neighborhoods — a working- and middle-class area where about a third of adults have a bachelor's degree and median household income sits around $65,000, well below the borough median. Roughly a fifth of households have children, and many families live in multi-family walk-ups rather than owned homes. The N train cuts straight through, so the subway is the way most families get around.

Three N-train stops serve the school: Bay Pkwy about a 7-minute walk, Kings Hwy about 8 minutes, and 20 Av about 13 minutes — plenty of options for families coming from elsewhere on the line.