The Equality Charter School

The Equality Charter's academic story is one of the more dramatic improvement arcs in District 11. In 2017, math proficiency sat at 18.5% — deep in the basement. By 2025, math proficiency is 55.7%, essentially matching the district average. ELA has also climbed substantially, from a low of 29% in 2017 to 48.6% in 2025, though it still trails the district average of about 57%. The school earned an overall score of 2.09 out of 4, slightly below the district average of 2.25, but the trajectory is clearly upward. By grade 8, ELA proficiency hits 55.4% and math reaches 61% — suggesting students who stick with the school tend to perform well by the time they graduate from middle school.

Parents are unusually happy here. Parent satisfaction sits at 96% (above the district average of 93%), parent-teacher trust is at 98%, and parent-principal trust at 97% — these are standout numbers. Teachers also report strong trust in leadership (96%) and 100% feel safe in the building (district average is 95%). On the ground, the day-to-day feel appears to be a tight-knit community where families feel heard and staff feel supported. The big asterisk is chronic absenteeism at 71.2% — meaning roughly 7 in 10 students miss enough school to be considered chronically absent. That's a real concern and worth asking the school how they're addressing it. Attendance rate itself is 91.5%, essentially identical to the district average, but the chronic absenteeism figure suggests uneven day-to-day attendance patterns rather than total disengagement.

The student body is predominantly Black (59%) and Hispanic (37%), reflecting the surrounding neighborhood. About 71% of students qualify for economic need, which is on the higher end, and 25% have IEPs — meaningfully above the citywide average. The school enrolls 631 students across a split grade configuration (K-2 and 6-12), which means there's no traditional elementary-through-middle pathway in-house. Families here are largely working-class: the surrounding Co-op City area has a median household income of about $58,565, with about 11% of households with children. Despite the economic pressures, parent engagement is strong — 487 families completed the survey, a robust response rate.

Co-op City is a sprawling, family-oriented residential development in the northeast Bronx, anchored by a large co-operative housing community. The area skews working- and middle-class, with homeownership at 44% and a median home value of $30,494 — numbers that reflect the co-op ownership structure rather than traditional real estate. Median household income is $58,565, with a poverty rate of about 11% and a quarter of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. About 12% of homes include children. It's a community where families often have roots and stay long-term, which gives a school like Equality a stable population to work with.

Getting here without a car takes some planning. The nearest subway is Pelham Bay Park on the 6 line, about a 17-minute walk from the school. Most families likely rely on school buses, car pools, or driving.