Top Rated "Bronx Charter School for Excellence" to Open New School in 2016

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 29, 2015) - Bronx Charter School for Excellence ("Bronx Excellence") announced today that the State University of New York Board of Trustees' Charter School Committee approved its application for Bronx Charter School for Excellence 2, a new elementary school slated to open for the 2016/2017 school year.

Given a waiting list of over 3700 students for the original SUNY-authorized Bronx Excellence, Bronx Excellence 2 will provide critically needed, high quality educational opportunities in a county with some of the lowest high school graduation and highest poverty rates in the country.

NY State Assemblyman, Mark Gjonaj, said in support of Bronx Excellence 2, "One of the most pressing issues that I focus on as a legislator is providing our children with an outstanding education that can open doors to a bright and successful future. The Bronx Charter School for Excellence provides the quality education that is essential to the children in the 80th Assembly District."

Bronx Excellence 2 will replicate the successful model of its predecessor school, which currently serves 776 K-8 scholars in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. Bronx Excellence opened in 2004, received the prestigious designation of a National Blue Ribbon School in 2012, and its students consistently outperform on state tests, often exceeding twice the average proficiency rate of its district. Bronx Excellence 2 will initially serve 120 scholars in Kindergarten and 1st grade with an ultimate goal of growing to 810 students in grades K-8. In terms of facilities, the school plans to take over its soon to be vacated middle school leased from Our Lady of Solace in the Van Nest neighborhood of East Bronx.

Bronx Excellence 2's key design elements will include high academic standards, a broad liberal arts education, and foundational skills that expand to a 21st century global perspective. More specifically, the school will focus on creating highly motivated learners who are not only competent academically, but who also use technology effectively, think critically, and conduct themselves with integrity while contributing to the well-being of their community.

The Bronx Excellence schools aim to be a catalyst to positively impact the development of the Bronx community, to enact community transformation through high student achievement. As Charlene Reid, Chief Executive Officer of Friends of Bronx Charter School for Excellence, explains, "We want to help shift from a culture of low performance to a new norm of academic excellence. We achieve this by not only focusing on our scholars, but by also working closely with our families and communities."

Pictures are available upon request
For more information about Bronx Excellence, please visit www.bronxexcellence.org