Get more from InsideSchools

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!

Neighborhood Charter School: Harlem

Grades: K-8
Staff Pick for Special Ed Noteworthy
691 St Nicholas Avenue
Manhattan NY 10030
Phone: 646-701-7117

Our Insights

What’s Special

Long school day, ASD Nest program for autistic children

The Downside

Many applicants for kindergarten

Little is left to chance in this structured, tidy school: Books in baskets all face in the same direction, just like the children, who sit with straight backs, hands folded, and all eyes on the teacher, a practice called "tracking." "Scholars" wear uniforms and walk through hallways in boy and girl lines.

Academics start early and the day is long. Yet it doesn't feel overly rigid: Kindergartners move in and out of groups, and 2-3 times a week spend time in a spacious "learning lab" with blocks, standing easels, puppets, costumes, and toy "stores." In class, they work with math "manipulatives" such as snap cubes, shapes, and fraction tiles.

Students at Neighborhood Charter School study science daily, unusual in elementary school, and share their classrooms with turtles, fish, hermit crabs, a bunny and potted plants. First-graders learn to type. Fourth-graders read 10 novels, in depth, as a class, in addition to books they choose. Starting in 4th grade, they study Spanish 5 days a week.

Scholars receive points, stickers, extra gym or other rewards for following routines. The language and structure seem a little stilted at times, but it seems to work—we watched a grumpy kindergartner roll his eyes, sigh, yank out his chair, then quickly settle down to solve a math problem, merging into the quiet order around him.

"We believe in structure, and I'm unapologetic about that," said Principal Brett Gallini.

The kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms are located at West 145th Street in a former church and school. Grades 2-5 will continue to meet at the school's flagship location on West 124th Street until a new building is ready in 2017 in District 6.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: Neighborhood Charter has made it a priority to serve children with special needs. There are three team-teaching classes on each grade; two are small and incorporate four children who have ASD (autism spectrum disorder). The third class is larger and mixes children with a variety of special needs and their general education peers. Some children meet in a small room with a speech therapist for "social club," to practice social skills. "We have seen huge growth with our ASD kids," said Gallini. "Kids who couldn't look me in the eye are now having back-and-forth conversations."

ADMISSIONS: The school offers tours from January to March. There are typically 1,000 applicants for 60 kindergarten seats. They fill empty seats that open in all grades. (Lydie Raschka, October 2015; updated August 2016)

Read more

School Stats

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

Is this school safe and well-run?

From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey

How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
81%
80% Citywide Average
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
67%
56% Citywide Average
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
74%
78% Citywide Average

From the 2019-20 NY State Report Card

How many students were suspended?
0%
1% Citywide Average

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Years of principal experience at this school
4.0

How do students perform academically?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
82%
53% Citywide Average
How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
67%
50% Citywide Average
How many middle school students scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
75%
52% Citywide Average
How many middle school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
61%
57% Citywide Average

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

How many 8th-graders earn high school credit?
3%
39% Citywide Average

Who does this school serve?

From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Enrollment
622
Asian
2%
Black
40%
Hispanic
54%
White
1%
Other
4%
Free or reduced priced lunch
100%
Students with disabilities
35%
English language learners
14%

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Average daily attendance
91%
90% Citywide Average
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
35%
38% Citywide Average

How does this school serve special populations?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
68%
27% Citywide Average
How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
37%
21% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
48%
17% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
43%
12% Citywide Average


For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

Harlem (District 5)

Contact

Principal
Kara Singleton

Other Details

Shared campus?
No
This school is in its own building.
Metal detectors?
No

Was this information helpful?

Get more from InsideSchools

You may also like …

P.S. 123 Mahalia Jackson

301 West 140th Street
Manhattan, NY 10030

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.

×