Bronx Charter School for Excellence 3, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Bronx Charter School for Excellence 3

Bronx Charter School for Excellence 3 is a free public charter school serving kindergarten through seventh grade in the Wakefield and Williamsbridge neighborhoods of the Bronx. It is part of Excellence Community Schools, a charter network, and has recently completed its build-out to a full K-8 program, with the school celebrating its first eighth-grade class in 2025. The school sits on Carpenter Avenue in a neighborhood where the borough transitions between dense residential blocks and smaller-scale commercial streets typical of the Bronx's patchwork geography.

The student population reflects the neighborhoods it serves: a substantial majority of students are Black, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students, and a very small number of Asian students. More than four in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a proportion that anchors the school in a lower-income community. The overall enrollment is modest for an urban charter, spread across eight grades with slightly larger cohorts in the middle grades.

On state math and English language arts assessments, the school's results are solid and relatively even across grades. Math proficiency runs from the high 70s to mid-90s across the tested grades, with fourth grade performing strongest and fifth grade weakest. English language arts proficiency stays in the high 70s and low 80s across most grades, with seventh grade notably at the high end. Science is where performance dips more substantially, with fifth and eighth grade proficiency in the low to mid-50s, suggesting science instruction or resources may warrant closer attention. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the other regular public and charter schools in Bronx County, a meaningful distinction in an urban district context.

Participation rates on state assessments are strong and consistent, mostly in the high 90s, which signals reliable compliance and engaged enrollment. The school operates with full-day and extended-school-year structures typical of high-performing charter networks, and families report that middle-school students receive guidance from dedicated high school placement and student advancement teams to support the transition to secondary school.

The school does not have reported data on graduation rates, which is expected given that it serves through seventh grade. Data on special education enrollment and English learner populations were not available in the school's public records, so a parent interested in understanding how the school serves students with individualized education plans or newcomer populations would want to inquire directly.

The Bronx location offers substantial affordability by New York City standards, with housing values below the state average. The neighborhood is walkable for daily needs, served by multiple subway lines and bus routes, and sits within reach of major parks and civic anchors including the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Library Center. The borough is also in a pronounced growth phase, with new residential development and infrastructure investment, including the planned expansion of Metro-North service, reshaping the area's character over the 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	12	67.0%
Math	5	100.0%

Math

Grade 389%

School 89% · district not reported

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

Grade 497%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · district not reported

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

Grade 677%

School 77% · district not reported

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 783%

School 83% · district not reported

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

Grade 881%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 45 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 481%

School 81% · district not reported

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

Grade 574%

School 74% · district not reported

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

Grade 680%

School 80% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 785%

School 85% · district not reported

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 881%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · district not reported

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

Grade 856%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 28 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-income78%Higher-income89%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income84%Higher-income63%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income75%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income80%Higher-income82%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income82%Higher-income93%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income82%Higher-income80%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income87%Higher-income100%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income96%Higher-income100%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income71%Higher-income75%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income78%Higher-income73%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income79%Higher-income93%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income82%Higher-income80%2 pp gap