Early College Charter School

Lois And Richard Nicotra Early College Charter School is the sole public charter high school serving grades 8-12 in Staten Island, New York, with a total enrollment of 286 students. The school's diverse student population faces significant academic and socioeconomic challenges, as evidenced by its below-average performance on state assessments and high rates of chronic absenteeism and economic disadvantage.

Despite the school's racial diversity, with a majority of students identifying as Hispanic or African American, its academic performance is concerning. Only 18.75% of 8th-grade students are proficient or better in English Language Arts, and just 17.02% are proficient or better in Math, far below the state averages. The school's high chronic absenteeism rate of 48.7% may be contributing to these poor academic outcomes. Additionally, a large majority (76.57%) of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

While the school spends $26,462 per student, which is higher than the state average, and has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 7.9, these resources do not appear to be effectively translating into improved academic performance. The school's 4-year graduation rate of 92.3% is relatively high, but its 0.0% dropout rate suggests that the school may need to focus on providing more targeted support and interventions to help struggling students succeed.