Amber Charter School Kingsbridge, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Amber Charter School Kingsbridge

Amber Charter School Kingsbridge is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, serving a student body that is substantially Hispanic, with a large share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school recently expanded from elementary-only to a full K-8 model by opening a separate middle school building, keeping students in the same school community through middle grades rather than forcing a transition to a different institution. The expansion brought new physical facilities, including a gymnasium and full cafeteria that the original building lacked.

The student population reflects deep economic need and linguistic diversity in the neighborhood. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and English-learner and special-education enrollment data are not publicly reported, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about how it serves students with those needs.

In math and English language arts, the school's test results show inconsistency across grades. Third and fourth graders show solid proficiency, with fourth grade particularly strong in math. Fifth grade marks a sharp drop in both subjects, especially in math, where fewer than half of students tested met the proficiency bar. Proficiency improves modestly in sixth grade but remains below the school's stronger grades. Seventh grade dips significantly in both subjects. Eighth grade sits in the middle range, though it is worth noting that the participation rate in eighth-grade testing was notably lower than in other grades, so that picture is incomplete. In science, fifth-grade proficiency was low, and the school did not report eighth-grade science testing results. Overall, proficiency indexed across all tested subjects and grades places the school in the top quartile among the county's charter and district schools, a position that reflects the strength of the early elementary grades pulling up the mean.

The school uses standardized curricula adopted across the Amber Charter network. Into Math and Into Reading from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt serve grades K-5, with Into Algebra added at the middle school starting in 2023-24. Magnetic Reading Foundations was adopted in 2023-24 as a daily foundational skills block for grades K-2 in English language arts. The middle school previously piloted a different math curriculum but switched after staff found it overly complex to implement.

The school received a multi-year charter renewal from the SUNY Charter Schools Institute through the 2030-31 school year, which provides operating stability. However, the renewal carried a condition: by July 1, 2026, the school must submit a corrective action plan to address teacher certification gaps. At the time of SUNY's review, roughly half of the school's lead teachers were uncertified, exceeding the allowable number by a significant margin. Parents should follow up with the school on how and whether this is being resolved.

The Kingsbridge area where the school is located sits in the northwest Bronx, a neighborhood with a walkable, village-like character shaped by its hilly topography and step streets. The broader Bronx is in a strong growth phase for affordable housing development, with major projects underway nearby. Housing values in the school's zip code sit below the state benchmark, and rents have risen recently. The area is served by subway lines and by transit corridors like Broadway-Kingsbridge Road, with plans to add new Metro-North stations nearby in coming years.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

2 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
Science	55	4.0%
Math	22	100.0%

Math

Grade 374%

School 74% · district not reported

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

Grade 480%

School 80% · district not reported

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 652%

School 52% · district not reported

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

Grade 737%

School 37% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · district not reported

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

Grade 465%

School 65% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 651%

School 51% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 534%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below 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-income76%Higher-income94%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income64%Higher-income75%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income86%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income51%Higher-income56%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income43%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income62%Higher-income73%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income68%Higher-income94%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income100%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income29%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income50%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income52%Higher-income50%2 pp gap