Amid the debate surrounding charter schools in the city, 15 new charter schools will be opening in the fall, adding to the 183 already operating in New York City. The majority of the new schools are part of established charter networks, including Success Academy, Achievement First and Ascend Schools. A few of the new schools are independent “mom and pop” charters that aren’t part of a larger network.

Applications for most charter schools are due by April 1 with admissions lotteries held in early April. Parents may submit applications to multiple schools at once using the online Common Charter School Application on the New York City Charter School Center website. Parents should also contact the schools that they wish to apply to directly to make sure that they understand all the application requirements. Admissions to charter schools is determined by lottery, giving priority to residents of the district where the school is located. Some charters have additional admissions priorities.

In a charter's first year, there is frequently space for out-of-district students, as some families are reluctant to take a chance on a school until it has a track record. All charter schools keep waitlists so even if you miss the application deadline, if you are interested in a school it's worth asking to be put on the waitlist.

Most of the new charters are elementary schools, or K-8 schools, opening with kindergarten and 1st grade (unless otherwise noted below.) There are a few middle schools (opening with 6th grade) and secondary schools  which will grow to include middle and high school grades. Two-thirds are opening in Brooklyn, with a few slated for the Bronx and one in Queens. 

Here’s a list of the schools that will be opening in 2014, along with the school's location, if confirmed.

Bronx

District 7 :

American Dream Charter School, sharing a building with PS 30, will serve students in grades 6-8 offering an English/Spanish dual language program. Its founder, Mellssa Melkonian, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who were undocumented when they came to the U.S.

Boys Preparatory Charter School of New York is the brother school to Girls Prep Lower East Side and Girls Prep Bronx. This elementary school is part of the Public Prep network which operates single sex schools and will be located in the PS 107 building in Soundview. Girls Prep Bronx is expanding to include a middle school, located at MS 301.

Family Life Academy Charter School III is the third school in the Family Life Academy network of K-8 schools. The schools emphasize online learning and each students gets an iPad. The Latino Pastoral Action Center was instrumental in the founding of the schools.

District 8 :

Success Academy Bronx 4 will open in the MS 131 building. There are about two dozen Success Academies in the city, all have a similarly demanding curriculum and approach to education. Success schools open with a kindergarten and 1st grade classes and do not accept incoming students after 2nd grade.

Brooklyn

District 13 :

Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School has a focus on technology and opens as a middle school with a plan to eventualoly include grades 6-12. It is located in a private space in downtown Brooklyn and will not be sharing a public school building.

Compass Charter School, a progressive elementary school opening in Fort Greene, was founded by three former teachers from another charter school in the neighborhood, Community Roots. It shares a building with MS 113 and, like that middle school, will have a focus on the arts as well as sustainability.

District 14 : 

Williamsburg Ascend Charter School is the eighth school in the Ascend network of K-12 schools, with an adherence to a "no excuses" philosophy and long school days.

District 17 :

Explore Enrich Charter School and Explore Envision Charter School join Explore,Empower, Excel and Exceed schools as part of the back-to-basics Explore Schools network. Both will start with grades K-2 in the first year, and like the other network schools, grow to become K-8 schools.

District 19 : 

Collegiate Academy for Mathematics and Personal Awareness Charter School (or CAMPA) is a math-focused middle school opening with a 5th grade. It will be located in portable buildings at the Bethlemen Baptist Church. 

Achievement First Linden Elementary is opening in the Van Siclen Community Middle School building.

District 21 :

Success Academy Bensonhurst will open in the IS 96 building, the first Success charter in that area of the city.

District 22 :

Success Academy Bergen Beach will open in the JHS 78 building.

District 32 : 

Achievement First North Brooklyn Prep Elementary is opening in the PS 377 building.

Queens

District 29 :

Success Academy Springfield Gardensopens in the IS 59 building, the first Success school in Queens.

The co-locations of two other Success Academy charter schools that had been approved under the Bloomberg administration -- slated for District 2 and District 27, were among six proposals to be withdrawn by the de Blasio administration. The schools had planned on opening in the Murry Bergrtraum High School building in lower Manhattan and the August Martin High School building in Jamaica but those locations were not approved by the city.

For charter school open house dates, see the Department of Education's webpage or contact the schools directly.