Success Academy Charter School - Upper West
Grades K-8 · 145 WEST 84 STREET · Manhattan
Jennifer Haynes, Principal · 646-274-1580
About
Success Academy Charter School - Upper West is a large K-8 charter school in Manhattan, serving nearly 1,000 students. It is widely recognized for its exceptional academic performance, with students achieving ELA and Math proficiency rates (95% and 96% respectively) that are significantly above citywide medians. The school consistently ranks among the top in New York for overall test scores, demonstrating particularly strong math and reading proficiency. Its rigorous, inquiry-based curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, rich texts, and conceptual reasoning, with middle school students taking New York State Regents exams in subjects like Algebra I and Global History, where pass rates are nearly perfect. Official parent surveys indicate exceptionally high satisfaction, with 100% positive responses across various questions. While many parents praise the academic excellence and nurturing teachers, some describe a highly structured and disciplined environment, with concerns raised about the intensity of the academic culture and support for students with special education needs. The school maintains a very low suspension rate.
Sources (11)
- Success Academy Charter School - Upper West Official Data · 2023-2024
- Success Academy Curriculum · Current
- The Middle School Curriculum - Success Academy · Current
- Success Academy Charter School - Upper West in Manhattan, NY - Niche · Current
- Upper West Reviews - Success Academy Charter School - Niche · Current
- Success Academy Charter School-upper West (Ranked Top 5% for 2026) - New York, NY · 2026
- Success Academy Upper West, New York, NY, K-8 Grade, 38 Reviews - Movoto · 2024
- Any experiences with Success Academy UWS? : r/nycparents - Reddit · 2026
- schooldigger.com
- niche.com
- reddit.com
Academics
State test proficiency rates and acceleration.
ELA proficiency
95%
Math proficiency
96%
Proficiency rates are from the Grade 3–8 NYS state test (school-level).
Attendance rate
—
Avg class size (general ed)
—
Avg class size (ICT)
—
Community & climate
Demographics, attendance, school survey results, and DOE quality ratings.
Quality signals
Parent survey · overall positive
85%6% response rate
Survey topics
Family outreach90%city 94%
- School staff regularly communicate with me about how I can help my child learn.100%
- Teachers work closely with me to meet my child's needs.83%
- My child's school communicates with me in a language that I can understand.83%
- I am greeted warmly when I contact or visit the school.100%
- My child's school will make me aware if there are any concerns about my child’s social or emotional well-being.83%
Each question’s favorable response rate; the topic score (90%) is their average, vs 94% citywide.
Parent–teacher trust89%city 95%
- I feel respected by my child's teachers.100%
- Staff at this school work hard to build trusting relationships with parents/guardians like me.83%
- My child's teachers treat me as a partner in educating my child.83%
Each question’s favorable response rate; the topic score (89%) is their average, vs 95% citywide.
Show all survey topicsShow fewer
Effective School Leadership
Inclusive Leadership83%city 95%
- The principal/school leader at this school…puts decisions made with families into action.83%
- The principal/school leader at this school…works to create a sense of community in the school.83%
- The principal/school leader at this school…ensures families are comfortable communicating with the school.83%
Each question’s favorable response rate; the topic score (83%) is their average, vs 95% citywide.
Strong Family-Community Ties
Parent Involvement in School55%city 63%
- Since the beginning of the school year, how often have you…communicated with your child's teachers about your child's performance?.83%
- Since the beginning of the school year, how often have you…seen your child’s projects, artwork, homework, tests, or quizzes?.83%
- I know how to contact the Parent Coordinator at my child’s school.0%
Each question’s favorable response rate; the topic score (55%) is their average, vs 63% citywide.
Trust
Parent-Principal Trust89%city 94%
- I feel respected by my child's principal/school leader.83%
- I trust the principal/school leader at their word (to do what they say that they will do).83%
- The principal/school leader is an effective manager who makes the school run smoothly.100%
Each question’s favorable response rate; the topic score (89%) is their average, vs 94% citywide.
Overall positive % is averaged across every Pos/Neg survey question per respondent group (school year 2023-2024). Survey topics are the DOE’s framework measures (each the average favorable response across its questions; expand a topic to see them and the citywide average); the dimension scores themselves are no longer in the public data file.[3]
Operational health
Attendance
—
Chronic absenteeism
—
Suspension rate
0%
Student body
Race / ethnicity[4]
- Asian 20%
- Black 18%
- Hispanic 37%
- White 18%
- Multiracial 4%
School-level totals; may not sum to 100% due to rounding and small subgroup suppression.
Gender[4]
- Female 52%
- Male 48%
Female / male shares as published by the DOE; other gender identities aren’t reported in the source data.
Enrollment
991
Economic Need Index
61%
Free / reduced lunch
56%
English learners
4%
Students with IEPs
16%
Location & commute
Where the school is and how to get there.