Success Academy Charter School - Far Rockaway

The school's test scores are dramatically higher than the district — about 24 percentage points above the District 27 average in ELA and nearly 30 points above in math. Math has been the school's calling card: scores dipped during the pandemic (77.5% in 2022) but recovered to 93%+ by 2023 and have stayed in the high 80s since. ELA is more volatile — it dropped to 68.7% in 2022, climbed back to 79.4% in 2023, dipped again to 70.1% in 2024, and rebounded to 80.4% in 2025. The strongest grade-level performance is at the top end: Grade 7 hits 92% ELA and 95% math, suggesting students who stay through middle school are exceptionally well-prepared.

Daily attendance is solid at 93.6%, a few points above the district's 90% average, which suggests families are getting kids to school consistently even though the commute to Far Rockaway can be long for some. Chronic absenteeism is high at 77.4%, though this is the share of students missing 10%+ of days — a common pattern at charters with strict attendance enforcement, where absences get counted strictly. As an NYC charter, the school runs on the Success Academy network's structured culture: uniforms, longer school days, and a behavior system that some families love and others find rigid.

The student body is 78% Black and 18% Hispanic, with very small Asian, white, and multiracial shares — a different racial mix than you might guess from the broader neighborhood. The school draws families from across the Rockaways and into eastern Queens through its charter lottery, so the student body isn't strictly a reflection of the immediate census tract. The economic need index of 72.7 indicates a largely low-income enrollment, which fits the neighborhood and is notable because the school still posts city-leading academic results with that population. IEP enrollment is 13%, slightly below the citywide average.

Far Rockaway-Bayswater is a stretch of southeastern Queens where median household income runs about $67,668 and roughly 18% of residents live below the poverty line. About 22% of households include children, and the homeownership rate is just 29% — most families here rent, often in the densely built areas near the beach. The neighborhood's a car-optional stretch of the city: the A train runs right through it, and Beach 67th Street is a few stops west on the same line. Median home values around $625,000 reflect the post-Sandy rebuilding and the broader Rockaway renaissance more than typical local incomes.

Most families take the A train — Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue is about a 6-minute walk from the school, and Beach 25 St is about 14 minutes away on the same line.