Success Academy Charter School - South Jamaica

The numbers here are genuinely striking. ELA proficiency at 93.8% and math at 98.5% are roughly 37 and 41 percentage points above the District 27 averages of 56% and 57%, respectively. The school took a real hit during the 2022 disruption (ELA dropped to 67.7%), but it has climbed back steadily — and the 2025 math score of 98.5% is actually its highest on record. Third graders post especially strong results (96.7% ELA, 98.9% math), with fourth graders close behind. This is a school where kids are not just meeting expectations but clearing them by wide margins year after year.

The climate picture is harder to read here because the data is thin. The family survey was essentially a no-show — a 0% response rate with only two responses means we don't really know what parents think about trust, communication, or safety. The one bright spot is the daily attendance rate of 93.4%, which beats the district average of about 90%. However, chronic absenteeism is reported at 80.5%, which is very high and worth asking the school directly about — it may reflect how 'chronic absenteeism' is measured against a strict threshold rather than how often kids are actually in seats, but it's a number parents should understand before enrolling.

The student body is majority Black (53%) with a sizable Asian population (21%), a Hispanic contingent (15%), and smaller shares of White, Multiracial, and Native American students. That mix tracks reasonably well with southeast Queens' character, though the school draws somewhat more widely given its charter catchment. About 13% of students have IEPs, and the economic need index of 63 suggests a meaningful share of families are higher-need than the neighborhood median income would suggest on its own.

Baisley Park is a stable, family-rooted Queens neighborhood. Median household income sits around $83,500, the poverty rate is a relatively low 11.3%, and nearly 63% of households own their homes with a median home value near $550,000. About 18% of households have children, and roughly a fifth of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. It's a place where families tend to stay put rather than pass through.

There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so families are essentially driving or taking local buses — plan the commute before you commit to the lottery