Kipp Academy Charter School, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Kipp Academy Charter School

KIPP Academy Charter School sits on East 156th Street in the South Bronx, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus. It is a charter school, publicly funded but independently operated under the KIPP NYC network, and enrollment runs across all grade levels in roughly comparable cohorts through middle school, tapering somewhat in high school. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, and the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning this school serves a genuinely high-need population by any standard measure.

On state testing, the results are a clear strength. Across the New York State Testing Program in math and ELA, proficiency rates for grades three through seven are consistently well above what most people would expect in a high-poverty urban school, and well above the state median for comparable settings. Math results are particularly strong, with most tested grades showing majorities of students reaching the proficient-or-above threshold and seventh grade reaching especially high marks. ELA scores are solid in third and seventh grade, with fourth through sixth grade running somewhat lower but still respectable. Eighth-grade ELA proficiency is notably high. Science results tell a more mixed story: fifth-grade science proficiency sits at a level that warrants attention, while eighth-grade science is more moderate. Families with children approaching the middle school science curriculum may want to ask the school directly about what supports are in place. No eighth-grade math testing data was reported, which is unusual and unexplained in the data provided; a parent would be reasonable to ask the school about this gap. Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible to characterize whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining.

For high school, a graduation rate was not reported in the data, and AP or dual-enrollment course access details were not provided. Given the network's publicly reported expansion plans, those gaps are especially worth exploring directly. KIPP NYC is opening a new South Bronx high school campus in fall 2026, publicly reported to include a large purpose-built facility with science labs, arts studios, a rooftop athletic field, and a substantial gymnasium. The plan restructures high school so the new campus serves ninth and tenth graders while the current campus continues to serve eleventh and twelfth graders. Students who enroll now in the lower grades will reach high school at a time when this transition is still settling. The new campus is also publicly reported to introduce a career-focused curriculum with concentrations in areas including healthcare, technology, business and finance, media and the arts, hospitality, and public service. Whether that direction appeals depends entirely on what a family is looking for in a high school pathway.

Chronic absenteeism data and discipline information were not available, which are gaps that matter for a school serving a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students. IEP and English learner rate data were also missing from the data provided. Families with children who have special education needs or who are English language learners should probe those supports specifically before enrolling.

Within the group of districts in Bronx County used for comparison, KIPP Academy's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile by a substantial margin. The county median sits well below where KIPP lands, and even the highest-performing comparable entity in that set does not reach KIPP's level. That positioning, achieved with a student population that is nearly entirely economically disadvantaged, is the school's most defining academic characteristic.

The surrounding South Bronx neighborhood is dense, transit-connected, and changing fast. The borough is in a sustained housing development phase, with major affordable projects under construction or recently completed across the South Bronx and nearby areas. Home values in the immediate zip code are below the New York state benchmark by a meaningful margin, and rents, while rising, remain lower than much of the city. The 4 and 5 subway lines serve the area, and the school's location near 156th Street puts it within reach of multiple bus routes. For families considering a move, this part of the Bronx offers relatively more accessible entry points into the city's housing market, though affordability pressure is building.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 56 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Ela	89	81.0%
Science	69	67.0%
Math	20	100.0%
Social Studies	19	68.0%

Math

Grade 375%

School 75% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 477%

School 77% · district not reported

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 674%

School 74% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 780%

School 80% · district not reported

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · district not reported

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 664%

School 64% · district not reported

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 774%

School 74% · district not reported

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 882%

School 82% · district not reported

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income87%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income59%Higher-income90%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income79%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income62%Higher-income72%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income72%Higher-income86%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income81%Higher-income92%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income71%Higher-income93%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income76%Higher-income80%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income66%Higher-income71%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income70%Higher-income90%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income81%Higher-income73%8 pp gap