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Posted on Posted on: · by Michael Lesczinski
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2026 New York City Charter School for the Arts Renewal Recommendation Report

Districts: Manhattan CSD 2

Key Information

Executive Summary

Currently in its tenth year of operation, City School of the Arts is one of few public, nonscreened, arts-based middle school programs in Manhattan. City School of the Arts intentionally enrolls students from all five boroughs, a majority of whom are economically disadvantaged. The school matriculated at least 75% of its graduating students into one of their top three high school selections, with several earning admission to competitive, high quality screened arts high schools across the city. City School of the Arts administers Regents exams in Algebra I and Living Environment to prepare 8th grade students for high school success and produced results that exceeded the citywide average throughout the majority of the charter term.

City School of the Arts effectively meets it mission and executes its key design elements by leveraging arts instruction and performance as an entry point to rigorous academic programming. All 6th grade students study piano, while 7th grade students study visual arts, and 8th grade students participate in the school’s “creative
connections” course to integrate the arts and academics with hands on projects. In addition to the school’s core arts curriculum, all students participate in varied ensemble elective courses taught by professional artists in fields such as dance, strings, music technology, theater, and vocal performance. City School of the Arts’ commitment to arts programming in the form of dedicated time and resources contributes to high quality outcomes for graduates of the school.

Over the term, City School of the Arts’ board navigated multiple leadership transitions and proactively adjusted the organizational structure. Under current leadership, the school has clarified roles across the administrative team and brought on a new director of teaching and learning to spearhead the academic program. In November 2025, City School of the Arts successfully relocated into a new facility while maintaining continuity of instruction. The school demonstrates effective organizational capacity and stable operations as it prepares for a third charter term in its new permanent space.

Findings and Information

Is the school an academic success?
City School of the Arts is an academic success, having met its Accountability Plan goals over the term. The school demonstrated consistently high growth and comparative performance. The SUNY Trustees placed conditions on City School of the Arts during its last renewal based on the limited availability of academic performance data from the school’s initial charter term. The school met its conditions and continues to demonstrate strong outcomes for students across subject areas including the arts measures outlined in its Accountability Plan. The school effectively addressed concerns raised during the last renewal related to English language arts (“ELA”) and mathematics performance as well the qualitative strength of systems evident at the time of the renewal visit. The school exceeded the targets for all comparative and growth measures in both ELA and mathematics for every year of the charter term with data available for analysis. City School of the Arts demonstrates success in the following ways:

• From 2021-22 through 2024-25, City School of the Arts posted high achievement in ELA. Notably, the school’s mean growth scores exceeded the target of 50 in each year with available data.
• The school also produced a similarly strong record of performance in mathematics during the charter term. Notably in 2024-25, 69% of the school’s tested students enrolled in at least their second year scored at or above proficient, a 24 percentage point increase from the beginning of the term.
• In 2024-25, 92% of 8th grade students who took the Algebra I Regents exam scored proficient. A majority of 8th grade students also took the Living Environment Regents, with 73% scoring proficient.

Is the school an effective, viable organization?
City School of the Arts is an effective, viable organization. The school’s leadership team consists of founding staff members as well as experienced instructional and operational leaders new to the school. The school’s mission and key design elements are deeply embedded in the leadership team’s long term strategic planning and day to day decision making. City School of the Arts prioritizes excellence in both academic and artistic outcomes for its students, and the school’s recent relocation into a new facility with extensive studio and rehearsal space demonstrates its commitment to arts instruction. Given the school’s new location in the South Street Seaport neighborhood, leaders are actively working to recruit from new and existing communities of students across the five boroughs and form partnerships with local elementary schools to create an enrollment pipeline. Following the leadership transitions over the charter term, the school has recommitted to family engagement to ensure all stakeholders are invested in the future success of the school.

Is the school fiscally sound?
City School of the Arts is fiscally adequate based on the Institute’s review of the renewal documentation. The education corporation established strong methods of budget creation that consider all departments of the school to develop accurate revenue and expense projections. The school’s finance team meets with the board monthly to present an enrollment report and discuss financial results. The education corporation maintained adequate enrollment throughout the charter term. The 2024-25 annual financial audit did not present any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. City School of the Arts maintains a separate bank account with the established amounts for dissolution as required by the charter agreement.

City School of the Arts demonstrates an adequate financial performance during the current charter term, with net assets of $1.4 million and 2.1 months of cash on hand as of the 2024-25 school year. During the current charter term, the education corporation prioritized spending on personnel expenses, investments in technology, and unplanned costs related to water damage sustained at its facility in November 2025. While some components of the Institute’s fiscal dashboard indicate “poor” designations for the school in the final years of the term, the board and school leadership demonstrate high capacity for rigorous financial oversight of the school’s fiscal health.

If the SUNY Trustees renew the school, are the education corporation’s plans for the school reasonable, feasible, and achievable?
City School of the Arts’ plans for a future charter term are reasonable, feasible, and achievable. City School of the Arts currently leases a private facility and plans to continue to occupy this facility through the next charter term. This new facility provides ample designated space for the school’s arts programming, but leaders are exploring additional partnerships for performance venues for student showcases and opportunities for after school and extracurricular programming for students not currently enrolled at City School of the Arts. The future budget the school provided in the renewal documentation contains reasonable and feasible revenue and expense projections. Board members are committed to continued service in a future charter term.

Recommendation: Full-Term Renewal with Conditions

The SUNY Charter Schools Institute (the “Institute”) recommends the SUNY Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee approve the Application for Charter Renewal of New York City Charter School of the Arts (“City School of the Arts”) for a period of five years with authority to provide instruction to students in 6th through 8th grade in such configuration as set forth in its Application for Charter Renewal and subject to a set of conditions listed below with a projected total enrollment of 255 students. The Institute makes this recommendation as City School of the Arts meets the requirements for renewal set forth in the Policies for Renewal of Not-For-Profit Charter School Education Corporations and Charter Schools Authorized by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (the “SUNY Renewal Policies”).

Conditions

By July 1, 2026, the education corporation must provide a Corrective Action Plan, to be approved by the Institute, to come into compliance with teacher certification requirements under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (as amended, the “Act”) inclusive of methods to assist uncertified teachers in obtaining certification, an identified system of monitoring certification status, and administrative or monetary supports offered to teachers. The education corporation must demonstrate significant improvement regarding compliance with teacher certification requirements in accordance with the Act by the conclusion of the education corporation’s next proposed renewal term