Success Academy Charter School - Harlem 5

With math proficiency at 95.7% and ELA at 88.9% in 2025, this school runs well ahead of District 5 averages of about 51% in math and 54% in ELA. The overall quality score of 3.69 out of 4 also towers above the district average of 2.09. Scores dipped in 2022 and 2023 — math fell to 78.3%, ELA to 73.7% — but the school has fully recovered, with 2024–2025 results matching or exceeding pre-pandemic peaks. Performance is strong across every tested grade: third graders hit 98.5% in math, eighth graders 91.4%, and ELA proficiency climbs steadily from 82% in third grade to 95.2% in seventh.

Daily attendance runs at 92.1%, comfortably above the district average of 88.6%, which suggests families who enroll are generally committed. However, the chronic absenteeism rate of 72.4% is a meaningful flag — roughly three-quarters of students miss 10% or more of school days. That tension (above-average attendance, high chronic absenteeism) reflects a core of frequently absent students pulling down an otherwise engaged population. It's a pattern mirrored across NYC post-pandemic, but worth weighing as a parent.

The student body is 902 strong and predominantly Black (61%) and Hispanic (34%), with an economic need index of 84.1% — meaning most students come from low-income households. Fifteen percent of students have IEPs. The racial composition closely tracks Central Harlem's demographics, though the area's relatively low share of households with children (10.3%) suggests the school likely draws families from a wider geography than just the immediate census tract.

Central Harlem's median household income sits around $54,700, with a 25.5% poverty rate and only 10.3% of households including children — a relatively low share for a residential neighborhood. About 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, homeownership is uncommon at 12.6%, and the median home value is roughly $714,000. The area is well-served by subway stops, making it accessible to families who commute from across upper Manhattan.

Three nearby subway stations serve the school: the 135 St stop on the C and B lines (about a 5-minute walk) and two 145 St stations — one on the B and D lines and one on the A and C lines (each about a 7-minute walk).