A Message from InsideSchools: The data below is the most up-to-date data available from City and State systems. We are working hard to update the narratives for all schools. We welcome your insights in the Comments section. Questions? Ask us!

Our Insights

What’s Special

Students take business classes all four years

The Downside

Limited arts

Manhattan Business Academy (MBA) is a small school with solid academics that delivers on its name; it offers two programs that focus on business in addition to regular high school classes. Most students earn a professional certificate, which can lead to job opportunities after high school. 

Academics & Instruction: The school does an unusually good job communicating with families through their reader-friendly newsletters on the school website. These outline the sequence of classes students take each year, what they study each month, and field trip destinations, such as the Statue of Liberty, ice skating, CUNY colleges,and the Ernst & Young accounting firm.  

The school offers four years of math (including algebra II and statistics) and four years of science (including chemistry, physics and environmental science). It has a handful of Advanced Placement (college-level) courses and College Now classes on campus. It offers Spanish language and visual arts. 

Culture & Environment: Most students say they feel safe and respected on the NYC School Survey. Each teacher serves as an advisor to a group of students. In addition to keeping tabs on attendance and checking in with families, advisors meet regularly with students to discuss topics such as living in a multi-cultural society, conflict resolution, college preparation, getting ready for your first job, and writing a college essay. 

A large number of students miss a month or more of school, requiring teachers to take additional time to help students make up for gaps in learning. There are before- and after-school programs to help them catch up. 

Themes & Programs: The entrepreneurship program covers a wide range of business fundamentals. Students study computer applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and may take a Microsoft exam to earn a professional certification. Courses include financial literacy, microeconomics (how individuals use their money), and macroeconomics (the overall economy, like inflation and unemployment). Students do internships in 12th grade. 

In their senior year students participate in Virtual Enterprise (VE), in which they run all facets of a mock company. MBA students compete with schools all over the world in business competitions and have won awards for their sales pitches, website designs, and business and marketing plans.

Students with Disabilities & English as a New Language (ENL): Teens learning English study in classes with their English-speaking peers and get extra support from ENL teachers. The school offers ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes, in which students with disabilities learn alongside their general ed peers in one classroom. 

Building & Facilities: Founded in 2009, MBA is one of six small schools in the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, a historical school building in the heart of Chelsea. PSAL sports are campus-wide.

College & Career: Students get help with career exploration as well as the college search and applications during advisories. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and questionnaire responses, February 2024)

 

 

Get more from InsideSchools

School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
93%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
77%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
77%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

381
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
90%
Students with disabilities
 
23%
Multilingual learners
 
8%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
93%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
29%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
23%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
91%
13.2
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
203
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
82%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

Not offered in 2019-20

Computer Science

Not offered in 2019-20

Physics

 
25%

Advanced Foreign Language

 
6%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
12%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
7%

Music

Not offered in 2019-20
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
53%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
93%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
73%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
65%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

Manhattan Business Academy (A12A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

All students take a rigorous Regents and college-preparatory curriculum. They are academically, socially, and emotionally supported by a strong advisory program and dedicated college counselors (through the College Bound Initiative). We promote a diverse student body.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Language and Composition, AP Spanish Language and Culture, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Other (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced Placement), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Bowling, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

351 West 18 Street
Manhattan NY 10011

Trains: 1 Line to 18th St; A Line, C Line, E Line, L Line to 14th St

Buses: M11, M12, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M20, M23-SBS, M55, M7, SIM1C, SIM33C, SIM3C, SIM4C


Contact

Principal: Karen Polsonetti

Parent Coordinator: Elianne Jimenez

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Bayard Rustin Educational Campus with five other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

Was this information helpful?

Get more from InsideSchools

You may also like …

Harvest Collegiate High School

34 West 14 Street
Manhattan, NY 10011

James Baldwin School, The

351 West 18 Street
Manhattan, NY 10011

Comments

  • Is this your school? Please post any news, updates, events, changes, or other information!
  • We welcome questions, open discussions, and disagreements but comments with personal attacks, rude language, or those with seemingly malicious intent will be deleted.
  • Very long comments, those that contain links, or repeat comments may be blocked by our spam filter.
  • Problems? email us at contact@insideschools.org.
  • Users must comply with our Terms of Use.

×