VOICE Charter School of New York

VOICE's 50.7% ELA proficiency and 55.5% math proficiency both sit below the District 30 averages of roughly 61% and 62%. The story underneath, though, is momentum: ELA proficiency has risen from 39.9% in 2022 to 50.7% in 2025, and math has rebounded from a low of 33.3% in 2022 to 55.5% this year — the strongest sustained climb of either subject in the eight-year window. By grade, the older students are pulling the averages up: sixth-graders hit 73.9% in math and 60.2% in ELA, and eighth-graders reached 61.9% in ELA. The weaker spot is fourth grade, where ELA lands at just 36.2%. The overall school score of 2.12 out of 4 reflects solid but not top-tier performance — comfortably above many city schools, but a step behind the district's G&T programs and selective middle schools.

The survey numbers here are unusually strong. 94% of parents say they're satisfied, 97% report trusting their child's teacher, and 96% trust the principal. Teachers rate instructional quality at 98% and collegial trust at 98%, and 92% trust the principal — that's a school where adults largely feel aligned with each other. Teacher-reported safety sits at 91%, a touch below the district average of 95%. The harder truth is attendance. The school's 88.9% attendance rate is well below the district's 92.4%, and more than half of students (53.1%) are chronically absent — defined as missing 10% or more of the school year. That gap shows up sharply among Asian students (80.3% chronically absent) and white students (68.3%), though the school body is predominantly Hispanic, so the Hispanic subgroup's 49.5% chronic absence is the one driving the overall picture. The day-to-day feel from surveys is warm and trusting; the attendance gap suggests that engagement doesn't always translate into consistent presence.

VOICE's 653 students reflect a predominantly Hispanic community: 59% Hispanic, 17% Black, 12% Asian, 8% white, and 2% multiracial. The diversity index of 68% indicates a fairly mixed student body, though Hispanic students are the clear majority. The economic need index of 75.9% — meaning roughly three-quarters of students are considered economically needy — is high, and 20% of students have IEPs. This is a working-class, working-family school where most parents have actively chosen the school through the charter lottery rather than being zoned in. The surrounding neighborhood, Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Dutch Kills, has a median household income of about $70,500 and a 19.4% poverty rate, so the school population mirrors the community around it fairly closely.

VOICE sits in Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Dutch Kills, a western Queens neighborhood just across the East River from Midtown. The area has a median household income around $70,500 and a poverty rate of 19.4%, with only about 10% of households including children — a relatively low share that hints at how many of the nearby homes are smaller households or newer arrivals without school-age kids. About 39% of neighborhood adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and homeownership is low at 16%, meaning most residents rent. The neighborhood has been changing quickly, with new residential towers rising near the waterfront, but the school serves a predominantly working-class, immigrant-rooted community.

Families reach VOICE on foot from the subway, with the closest option being the 21 St-Queensbridge M train about a 10-minute walk away. Queensboro Plaza, served by the 7, N, and W lines, is roughly a 14-minute walk. There's no station right at the school's door, so most families budget some walking time each way.