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2026 United Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science / United Charter High School for the Humanities Renewal Recommendation Report

Districts: Bronx CSD 10

Key Information

Executive Summary

Following the transition to self-management and staffing adjustments across United Charter High Schools, United AMS and United HUM continue to execute their academic programs effectively to meet the needs of their students through distinct and functional leadership models. Over the current charter term, United Charter High Schools adjusted its staffing plan to align with enrollment trends and operational needs while maintaining high quality instruction. United AMS and United HUM school leaders implemented a scaled-down, fiscally responsible model that preserves program quality. Both schools align leadership structures, interventions, and course offerings to their student population and operational needs.

The SST aims to streamline instructional practices across its seven high schools. For example, SST leaders seek to promote greater consistency in the use of authentic assessments and alignment in curriculum implementation across schools. Currently, United HUM still adapts New Visions materials while United AMS uses mostly internally developed resources. Schools across United Charter High Schools utilize intervisitations to share best practices. For instance, United HUM and other related schools visit United AMS to learn about its established and successful execution of authentic assessments. United Charter High Schools also implements inquiry team structures, which allow SST leaders, school leaders, consultants, teachers, and other school staff members to engage in cross-school collaboration focusing on specific issues such as curriculum and instruction, diverse learning, and student recruitment.

Education Corporations Background

The SUNY Trustees approved the original charters for United Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science (“United AMS”) and United Charter High School for the Humanities (“United HUM”) under the original names New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science and New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities on September 15, 2010. Each school is an independent education corporation and both opened in the fall of 2011. Both schools operate as co-located high schools within a New York City Department of Education (“NYCDOE”) building shared with several NYCDOE high schools in Bronx Community School District (“CSD”) 10.

As of July 1, 2024, United AMS and United HUM transitioned from external management by New Visions for Public Schools, Inc. (“New Visions”), to a self-management model with a shared services team (“SST”) referred to as United Charter High Schools (“United Charter High Schools”). United AMS and United HUM
are two of seven high schools the SST serves with related programs. The New York State Board of Regents (“Board of Regents”) authorizes the remaining five high schools. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the SST assumed responsibility for services previously carried out by New Visions. The SST currently consists of
12 staff members, including the chief executive officer (“CEO”), chief financial and operating officer (“CFO/COO”), and chief academic officer (“CAO”), and provides shared services and operations support to the seven high schools across United Charter High Schools.

Findings and Information

Is the school an academic success?

The education corporations are academic successes. Over the charter term, both United AMS and United HUM met or came close to meeting their key academic Accountability Plan goals. United AMS and United HUM offer Advanced Placement (“AP”) and dual enrollment College Now courses demonstrating programming focused on preparing students for success in high school and beyond. Both schools maintain high credit accumulation and promotion rates, indicating sustained academic progress. The schools demonstrate success in the following ways:

  • United AMS and United HUM met their graduation goals over the charter term posting consistently high four year graduation rates that exceeded the absolute target of 75% and the district rate each year with available comparison data.
  • Notably, United AMS matriculated its graduates into two and four year colleges at rates that exceeded the target of 75% in the three most recent years of the Accountability Period with validated data.
  • United HUM posted a laudable record of achievement in English language arts (“ELA”). From 2020-21 through 2024-25, the school’s Total Cohorts scored at Level 3 or above on the English Regents exam at rates that surpassed the district results over the majority of years. In 2024-25, 93% of the school’s 2021 Cohort scored at least at Level 3 on the exam exceeding the district results by 13 percentage points.
Is the school an effective, viable organization?

Both United AMS and United HUM are effective, viable organizations with support from the SST. Each school implements leadership structures that align with its size and operational needs while adequately supporting the core academic program. The same board members oversee United AMS and United HUM and successfully guide strategic planning to maintain organizational stability while navigating the transition to self-management. Leaders across the SST work to streamline instructional and curricular practices leading to more focused use of resources for each school.

Is the school fiscally sound?

United AMS and United HUM are currently fiscally sound based on the Institute’s review of the renewal documentation. The education corporations have strong methods of budget creation that consider all departments of each school to develop accurate revenue and expense projections. The finance and management teams monitor enrollment variances regularly to determine if schools are meeting their targets and whether schools must make reductions. United AMS has maintained over 80% of its chartered enrollment for the entire five year term. United HUM dropped below 80% of its chartered enrollment for the last three years of the current charter term, and has taken corrective action by revising its chartered enrollment to align its budget with current enrollment levels for the next charter term. The 2024-25 annual financial audits did not present any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. United AMS and United HUM each maintain separate bank accounts with the appropriate amounts for dissolution as required by their charter agreements.

United AMS and United HUM demonstrated a positive financial performance during the current charter term, with the following net assets and months of cash at each school in the 2024-25 fiscal year:

SchoolNew AssetsMonths of Cash
United AMS$4.6 million4.6
United HUM$3.1 million4.0

Over the entire charter term, United AMS and United HUM both scored strong on all of the Institute’s financial metrics. United AMS and United HUM have experienced an enrollment decrease, which has caused deficits in operation over the last five years. During the Institute’s fiscal renewal interview, both education corporations acknowledged these challenges and presented strategies to address shortfalls through more robust analyses of enrollment variances and additional marketing support from the SST. The education corporations prioritized spending on personnel salary and fringe benefit increases during the current charter term.

If the SUNY Trustees renew the school, are the education corporation’s plans for the school reasonable, feasible, and achievable?

United AMS’s and United HUM’s future plans are reasonable, feasible, and achievable. The schools plan to continue implementing the same effective core program while the SST finalizes its transition to full self-management from New Visions in June 2026. United HUM is analyzing its college preparation and college matriculation outcomes to formulate a plan to ensure these two metrics increase in a future charter term, if renewed. The board leverages working groups comprised of staff members and leaders from different United Charter High Schools and New Visions to identify essential tasks impacted by the transition. The SST and board are working to identify and vet vendors to address services previously provided by New Visions in such areas as accounting and finance, human resources, and technology.

The Institute’s analysis found the schools’ proposed future budgets to be reasonable and feasible. Each school is housed in the same NYCDOE co-located facility and have no plans to change facilities over the next charter term.

Recommendation: Full-Term Renewal

Renewal through 2030-31. The SUNY Charter Schools Institute (the “Institute”) recommends the SUNY Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee approve the two Applications for Charter Renewal:

  • United Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science; and,
  • United Charter High School for the Humanities.

If renewed, each education corporation will be granted the authority to continue to operate each charter through 2030-31 with the authority to provide instruction to students in such configuration as set forth in each charter’s Application for Renewal. The Institute makes this recommendation based on each charter meeting the criteria for renewal set forth in the Policies for the 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 (“SUNY Renewal Policies”).