How Four Bronx Charter Schools Are Achieving Educational Excellence

When Lester Long opened the first Classical Charter School in 2006, he knew that improving education in the South Bronx would require a different approach from that of the district school system he had just left. Eager to “do something more meaningful,” Long had originally quit his finance job in 2000 to teach in a public elementary school in America’s poorest congressional district. Public education, he discovered, left much to be desired. But New York State’s 1996 authorization of the first slate of charter schools presented him with an opportunity to try something new.

After 20 years in operation, Classical Charter Schools’ four academies aren’t merely better than local district schools—they’re some of the best in the city. And they outperform district schools while receiving about half the funding of district schools on a per-pupil basis. How do they do it?

I went to see one of Long’s four schools for myself. Along the way, I became convinced that the excellence embodied in these schools owes to the high expectations they set for students, teachers, and parents, and to administrators’ singular focus on student outcomes. Policymakers could learn a lot from the Classical Charter Schools model.

It’s 8:30 a.m. I’m met by Nicole Fraija, director of South Bronx Classical I, the first of four charters in a growing network of K–8 schools. Just 26, Fraija is young and energetic. But she’s also authoritative, maintaining a firm grasp on both curricular affairs and the specific circumstances of every teacher and student we encounter in the hallways, all of whom politely address us, with “good morning.”

Our first class is Latin, one of the two courses that makes South Bronx Classical a “classical” school (the other is debate). The subject is taught daily to students from third grade and above. Learning Latin advances English comprehension, the school believes. For many students, it represents their first exposure to the art of learning for its own sake.

After Latin, Fraija and I sit in on a middle school math class, an English Language Arts course, and finally, kindergarten math.

Every teacher I met shared certain qualities with Fraija. They had graduated from excellent universities in the last half-decade. They cared intensely about the material itself. And they were committed to keeping students focused: order came before learning.

The sense of order starts with the curriculum. While adhering to state and national standards, Classical Charter Schools have a Curricular Adjustment Committee that adjusts and improves lesson plans annually. Teaching is thus more structured than at district schools, where instructors have more discretion over their material. Classical’s framework preserves the best approaches while relieving teachers of the burden of creating lesson plans.

Curriculum is just one part of the story. Two district public schools share the same building with South Bronx Classical I: Acción Academy and I.S. 217 School of Performing Arts.

“The biggest differences you’d see if you walked downstairs [to the other schools] are far higher expectations and a greater attention to detail at Classical,” Long said.

Those high standards extend to everyone—parents included.

For students, expectations include uniforms, storing phones in boxes at the front of the classroom, and the constant expectation that they pay attention. Rules work because “we have the courage to call out [students]” when needed, said Long. But most of the time, order is “achieved through culture” and rewards. Those who do well get stickers, prizes, and even trips abroad, including the capstone to Latin studies: a trip to Italy.

Parents, meantime, are expected to ensure that their children show up. The school day at South Bronx Classical I runs from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., an hour longer than at public schools. For a student facing disorder at home, a condition commonly found in low-income households, those additional structured hours make a real difference. For parents, too, an additional hour of school allows them to work while minimizing childcare expenses.

These expectations are reflected in attendance figures. The day before my visit, attendance at Classical I was 97 percent—while New York City Public Schools reported a systemwide attendance of 85 percent that same day.

The results speak for themselves. In 2025, the four Bronx Classical Charter Schools averaged a proficiency rate of 96 percent for English and 98 percent for mathematics. By way of comparison, the average proficiency rate in school districts where Classical Charter Schools are located was about 41 percent for English and 42 percent for math in 2025. Citywide, it’s 53 percent for English and 55 percent for math.

A common criticism of charter schools is that their results aren’t “real” because they force out poorly performing students. Not so in the case of Classical Charter Schools: “We have never expelled a student,” said Long.

Others criticize charters for their high rates of attrition, with poor-performing students slowly dropping out as they advance to higher grade levels. Again, that’s not the case with South Bronx Classical Charter Schools: their enrollment numbers are steady, and departing students’ spots are quickly filled by newcomers.

Incidentally, a few days before my visit, I met a former Classical Charter Schools teacher and asked him about his experience. He told me that the work was demanding because standards are high. While he did not stay on at Classical after receiving his teaching certificate, he recognized that the education the schools’ students received was far greater than what they would have gotten in traditional district schools.

This observation points to the most important reason why South Bronx Classical I and its sibling schools have succeeded with half the funding of public schools. Every decision that teachers and administrators make is subject to the same test: Will it improve student outcomes?

In education policy circles, student outcomes aren’t always the top focus. Unions deny that the stronger job protections they have negotiated in public schools—such as teacher firings only for-cause, restricting the use of student punishments to maintain classroom order, and giving teachers broad discretion over what is taught—involve any tradeoffs with student outcomes.

At Classical Charter Schools, by contrast, the guiding principle is putting students first, which explains its tremendously positive student outcomes.

New York should seek to replicate this model across the state. As a first step, Albany should lift the 460-school cap preventing new charters from opening. The state could then explore further incentives for charters, like creating additional performance-related bonuses for teachers and staff.

That the South Bronx remains afflicted with poverty, and that a majority of its kids are born to single-parent households, mostly black and Hispanic, are not legitimate reasons to expect any less of them as students. The achievement of Classical Charter Schools sets it apart from most traditional public schools: to demand the best of these children and to set expectations high. And the children do not disappoint.

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