At a Glance
A small, civics-themed high school in the Lower East Side where strong family-school trust pairs with a remarkably calm campus.
Best suited for
Families who want a small, civics-anchored high school with strong home-school communication, who are comfortable with a working-class Lower East Side setting, and whose teen would thrive in a tight-knit environment with broad athletic offerings rather than a sprawling course catalog.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Zero suspensions in the most recent reporting period — a remarkable figure for a high school in this neighborhood
- A distinct government-and-law identity, anchored by the AGL Law Team and civics-themed event days like Annual AGL Multicultural Day
- Parent-principal trust at 98%, well above the District 2 average, signaling unusually strong family-school partnership
- Highly selective non-screened admissions with a 12.5% offer rate against 637 applicants for 79 seats
- A sports program unusually broad for a school of 341 students, ranging from badminton and bowling to wrestling, swimming, and yoga
Things to consider
- The school has roughly 340 students split across four grades, so the course catalog and extracurricular depth will be more limited than at a large zoned or screened high school
- The economic need index of 84% means most families are navigating significant financial pressure, which can shape both the school's resources and the kinds of enrichment families can afford outside of school
- State test proficiency data and an overall school quality rating aren't available in this dataset, so academic performance relative to peers is hard to gauge from numbers alone
- Highly selective: getting in requires a strong lottery position, which limits who can plan to attend
Based on 2024-2025 data
School SummaryDistrict 2
District 2 is one of Manhattan's strongest school districts, and the high-achieving peer schools listed in the data — Lower Lab, Success Academy campuses, Manhattan New School — are mostly selective or charter elementary programs. As a non-screened public high school in the same district, Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law occupies a different lane: it's smaller, more accessible by lottery, and serves a far more economically disadvantaged student body than most of those peers. Its standout climate metrics, particularly the zero suspensions and 100% teacher instruction quality score, distinguish it from the district pack.
Academics
State test scores and a school quality rating aren't reflected in this dataset, so the clearest academic signals come from the course catalog and survey data. AP Courses and ELL Support sit alongside Spanish world-language offerings, which fits a student body where 84% come from economically disadvantaged households and English learners are clearly part of the mix. Class size lands right at the District 2 average of roughly 26 students — not a small-school feel, but consistent with what families across the district encounter. The 100% teacher-reported instruction quality score is striking and suggests staff feel well-supported in their classrooms.
Culture
The climate numbers here are unusually strong. Parent-teacher trust sits at 97% and parent-principal trust at 98% — meaningfully above the District 2 averages of 89–92% — and 100% of teachers rate the quality of instruction at their own school highly. Teacher collegial trust and principal trust are both in the low 90s, which signals a staff that feels aligned rather than siloed. Zero suspensions across the entire school year is genuinely rare and points to a culture where behavioral issues are handled before they escalate, or simply aren't showing up at scale. The day-to-day feel here, based on the data, is calmer and more family-connected than most.
Community
The student body is majority Hispanic (52%) and Black (33%), with a notable Asian contingent (10%) and very few white or multiracial students. That composition tracks closely with the Lower East Side around the school, where nearly a quarter of households live below the poverty line and just 6.5% of households have children under 18. The economic need index of 84.1 confirms that most families here are working with limited resources, and the dedicated ELL Support program suggests newcomers are a meaningful part of the school community. Parents who respond to surveys — about 68 of them — give the school a 94% satisfaction rating, well above the district average.
Neighborhood
The Lower East Side is one of Manhattan's lower-income neighborhoods, with a median household income around $58,000 and a poverty rate over 23%. Homeownership is low at roughly 23%, and most families rent in this densely built, transit-rich stretch of the borough. Only about 6.5% of households include children, so the population skews older, single, and childless even as immigrant and working-class family networks remain strong. The share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is just 44%, below the borough norm, which tracks with the high economic need index of the school itself.
Families have three subway options within a short distance: Delancey St-Essex St on the F line and on the M, J, Z lines (about a 3-minute walk), and East Broadway on the F line (about a 6-minute walk). All three are within easy reach of the school.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 68 families responded (29% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Students take law themed and government courses such as Law & Ethics, Forensic Science, Advanced Law Topics, Government, US History and Advanced Placement US History.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- The Urban Assembly Academy of Government and LawEd. Opt.
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The a good school?
- On Motley, Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The earns an overall rating of 65/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The serve?
- Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The?
- Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The uses the Educational Option (Ed-Opt) method, ranking applicants across performance levels so seats go to a mix of abilities.
- Is Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The public, charter, or private?
- Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The is a public school in NYC Community School District 2.
- What neighborhood is Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The in?
- Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, The is in Lower East Side, Manhattan.