We are so grateful to our entire school community for your hard work, commitment and support this year. We are so proud of our teachers and staff for their tireless efforts which continue to create positive academic results and the inclusive and diverse culture that makes our school special. We are thankful to our families who continue to trust in us to educate and care for their children. And we are profoundly grateful to our board, donors and supporters whose partnership has been unwavering. Together, we are making a positive, generational impact in our community.
our scholars OUTPERFORMED THEIR PEERS
The 2025 New York State assessment exam comparative results showed that once again our scholars outperformed their peers across our home District 24, New York City and New York State overall. One of the most notable outcomes was that CQA scholars made a 13 percentage point improvement in ELA in one year between 2024 and 2025. CQA scholars’ hard work and our teacher’s dedication has resulted in consistent positive outcomes and steady growth year-over-year.
our schools and our diversity continues to grow
We added 2nd grade to CQA II this past August, which now serves 300 scholars. In total across both CQA I and CQA II, we are serving 1,200 scholars this school year.
As we welcome new families, we continue to deepen the richness of our diverse school community. Our most recent family survey showed that our families hail from 72 different nations and lands and collectively speak 47 languages and dialects.
our cqa i founding kindergarten class moved up
2025 marked a milestone for our founding class of CQA I Kindergarteners, who graduated in June as fourth graders and moved up (and upstairs) to middle school in August! These scholars made notable progress while in our elementary school. On state assessment exams, 92% tested proficient in math for the past two years. In ELA, their proficiency rates grew 18 percentage points from 3rd to 4th grade, with 83% testing proficient this June. We’re so proud of their progress, which reinforces our belief that adding CQA I elementary school will help further boost outcomes for scholars by the time they graduate from our schools as 8th graders.
We added to our family support services
As we grow, we are committed to remaining a community-minded school at our core. We expanded our family support services across both our schools, including after school programing (now serving 575 scholars across 3 after school programs), family counseling, Know Your Rights immigration instruction, housing rights instruction, 529 college savings program instruction, distribution of food pantry items, distribution of tablets to scholars who needed an at-home tech device, health insurance guidance and support, and connections to outside community resources.
We believe that expanding our family support services strengthens our school community, which helps scholars excel while also strengthening partnerships with families.
we launched our own teacher residency program
CQA launched a formal Teacher Residency Program, CQA Next, in the summer of 2025 in partnership with a University. Fourteen Residents are taking their coursework at our facilities, learning from CQA clinical coaches, and training with CQA master teachers as they work to earn dual certification in Childhood Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities and a Master of Science degree. This project has been a significant undertaking for CQA but we believe that it is necessary to develop our own pipeline of high-impact, high-quality teachers to support our long-term growth and sustainability. We are currently recruiting prospective Residents for next school year. Our goal is to onboard an additional 10-12 Residents who will begin their Residency in the summer of 2026.
we added an alumni support program
We introduced our Alumni program, CQA Connect, this year to help alumni increase professional and personal outcomes through tutoring, college readiness support, professional networking, career mentorship, and leadership development. We aim to bridge the gap in support and resources for our alumni whether they are in high school, college, or entering the workforce.
we prepared the class of 2029 for high school
Our college-going class of 2029 left CQA well-prepared for high school. On the high-school level Regents exams, 90% passed Algebra 1 and 76% passed Earth Science Regents. In ELA, 75% of the class tested proficient on the New York State assessment exam as compared to 56% across New York City and 53% statewide. Twenty-three percent of the 8th grade class moved on to selective, specialized or private high schools, which have some of the most competitive entrance standards in the city. Eighty-six percent went on to attend one of their top five choice high schools.