Original Research by School Decision on New Ventures Charter School
New Ventures Charter School is a small, independent transfer high school district serving grades 10 through 12 in Richmond County, New York. It functions as a single-school charter with about that size enrollment, predominantly serving Black and Hispanic students, alongside a substantial Asian and white population. The school sits at the upper end of per-pupil current spending compared to other Richmond County districts, positioning it in the middle-to-upper range of local finance investment.
The school recently achieved a full-term, five-year charter renewal from the Board of Regents following its 2024-2025 review cycle. This action reflects approval of the school's performance, fiscal health, and organizational management against state benchmarks; for a parent considering a transfer option, it signals the school cleared regulatory hurdles and will remain open and available through the next charter period rather than face closure or probationary status.
A substantial structural change arrived when New Ventures consolidated from a standalone location onto a single, purpose-built campus shared with two sister Integration Charter Schools: Lavelle Preparatory and Nicotra Early College. The new facility, located on South Avenue in the Corporate Commons area of central Staten Island, features grade-level counseling clusters, shared common spaces, and a green roof designed for nutrition-focused skills education. For families evaluating the school as a transfer choice for grades 10-12, this campus represents the day-to-day environment and peer setting they would enter.
One notable data point stands out: the chronic absenteeism rate reported is substantially higher than the median for other Richmond County districts and places the school in the bottom quartile locally. A parent should explore this figure directly with the school. Chronic absence can reflect either schoolwide attendance patterns or the broader demographics and life circumstances of the student population the school serves; the school itself can clarify what drives this number and what supports are in place.
Academic performance data—proficiency rates and four-year graduation rates—were not available in the dataset, so a reader cannot assess how students perform on state assessments or how many complete their diplomas. Because this is a transfer high school serving only grades 10-12, proficiency testing may follow different pathways or reporting conventions than traditional schools, a reality that often explains missing state test results in the context of alternative or specialized secondary programs. State testing data details or graduation outcomes should be requested directly from the school or from the New York State Education Department's public reporting.
The school enrolls roughly a quarter of its students as Black, more than a third as Hispanic, and the remainder split between white students and smaller numbers of Asian and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch status and special education enrollment counts were not available, leaving open what share of students come from lower-income backgrounds or carry IEPs, and whether the school serves English learners—important context for understanding peer composition and available support services.
New Ventures positions itself as a second-chance or transfer pathway for students entering high school. The five-year renewal and campus consolidation with peer charter schools suggest the organization has institutional staying power and a belief in shared resources. For families in Staten Island seeking an alternative high school pathway outside the traditional district, the school warrants a direct conversation about academic offerings, student supports, attendance culture, and outcomes for recent graduating classes.
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