Original Research by School Decision on Success Academy Charter School-union Square
Success Academy Charter School–Union Square is undergoing a significant structural change. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the school is transitioning from a kindergarten through eighth-grade school to kindergarten through fourth-grade only. The middle school grades will relocate to Success Academy Hudson Yards, a separate charter campus. Families considering Union Square should know that a child completing the elementary program there will need to transfer to continue middle school elsewhere within the Success Academy network.
The school currently enrolls a student body of about one thousand students across nine grades, with the enrollment distributed relatively evenly across the elementary and middle grades, though the fifth through sixth grades show slightly higher enrollment. The student population is diverse, with roughly equal representation across Hispanic, Asian, and Black students, and a smaller share of white students. No data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learner status was available. State assessment data and academic proficiency metrics were not provided, so this account cannot speak to student achievement outcomes or how the school performs on standardized measures.
Chronic absenteeism at Union Square places the school in the top quartile among New York County's districts, meaning the school has notably lower absenteeism than most of its peers countywide. Per-pupil spending is in the lower range compared to other county districts, reflecting the charter sector's generally lower spending profiles.
The school operates as part of the Success Academy network, which publicly reported significant expansion in July 2024 when the SUNY Charter Schools Committee approved new charters for the network alongside other operators. This network-wide growth affects seat availability and admission lottery dynamics for families applying to Success Academy schools, including Union Square. The school's location is noted as Union Square in New York County, though specific neighborhood or address details were not available.
Parents interested in this school may want to examine the timing of the upcoming transition carefully, especially if they are enrolling a child who would be in the upper elementary grades and thus would need to change schools for middle school. The school's low absenteeism is a strength. State testing results and academic performance data were not available for this analysis, so a parent seeking evidence of academic outcomes should request that information directly from the school or through the charter authorizer.
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