Last year we celebrated a decade of service to our community, including the expansion of CQA I and the recent opening of our brand-new permanent facility. We thought it couldn’t get much better than that! But 2023 has been a transformative year for CQA.
With the approval of our second charter to open another K-8 school, planning for CQA II began this year. Our families and our community have waited so long for this opportunity, so we are wasting no time! CQA II elementary school will open in August 2024 with kindergarten and first grade. We have already received several hundred applications for those grades. We will add another grade each year thereafter until CQA II is a K-8 serving 900 additional scholars. This means CQA will double in size within the next eight years and serve 1,800 scholars across our two charters.
We will remain a small school at heart and in practice. While we will serve more scholars, our approach to teaching and learning will remain the same. Each scholar will continue to receive the individualized attention and support they need for success and we will remain committed to building strong and impactful partnerships with each family.
We are grateful to each member of our school family, whose hard work and dedication has made this moment of transformation for our school and our community possible.
We served 800 scholars and their families this year
As our school grows, so does our school community. We welcomed another 100 kindergarten scholars and their families and more than two dozen new staff members. They represent different backgrounds, home countries and cultures, have different life experiences, and speak different languages. Each new member of our community contributes to the rich diversity and the strength of our school.
We cannot wait to welcome new families in 2024!
Scholars outperform their peers again this year
CQA scholars made significant gains over the past year. Across all of our middle school grades, they outperformed their peers in our home District 24 and New York City on ELA and math.
We succeeded in getting scholars back to pre-pandemic assessment levels overall in ELA with over 64% testing proficient compared to 52% of their peers citywide. Unfortunately, our scholars were not immune to the devastating impact the pandemic had on math outcomes across the country since 2020. But with intensive and strategic remediation efforts, CQA scholars grew significantly on average in math - 74% of our 5-7 grade scholars tested proficient compared to 49% of their peers citywide.
arts PROGRAMMING expanded at cqa
We launched our theater program last school year and scholars performed Matilda the Musical in May. From the excitement of seeing their names on the casting list to celebrating after the performance with friends and family, our scholars made the most out of this very special experience. We were all so proud of the time and dedication the cast and crew put into the show. We’re excited to expand the program this school year. Scholars are preparing to perform their second musical, Shrek, this coming spring.
And we continued to add to our arts programming across elementary and middle school, including adding a middle school art class and expanding our jazz music program. Arts, music, dance, and theater help our scholars become more well-rounded learners, individuals, and citizens.
eighth grade graduates overcame covid learning loss
Our 8th grade college-going class of 2027 started with CQA in 5th grade in 2019. Half way into the school year, their learning was forever altered when COVID hit. Like all students around the globe, the pandemic had a negative impact on their academic growth. But with the consistent efforts of their teachers and scholars’ hard work, they got their learning back on track.
This year, in ELA, 72% tested proficient as compared to 60% citywide. In math, they once again surpassed their peers on the high-school level Algebra 1 exam - 88% passed compared to 74% citywide. Twenty percent moved on to selective, specialized or private high schools and 76% were accepted to one of the top five high schools of their choice. We are incredibly proud of their resilience and perseverance and cannot wait to see what they accomplish next.
The College-Going class of 2035 is on their way
In June, our littlest learners celebrated at a stepping-up ceremony with their families and teachers. Now in first grade, these scholars will graduate from high school and enter college in 2035.
Thank you for continuing to support our scholars, families and our school. We are incredibly grateful. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in 2024!