Overview
Manhattan Charter School is a public charter elementary school in New York City. Its campus is at 100 Attorney Street, New York, NY 10002, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and the school describes its program as one elementary school serving children in kindergarten through fifth grade [3]. The school is authorized by the SUNY Board of Trustees, according to its 2023-24 annual report filed with New York State [2]. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) reported total enrollment of 184 students for the 2024-25 school year [1].
As a charter school in New York State, Manhattan Charter School is a publicly funded school of choice rather than a zoned neighborhood school. It operates under a charter granted by an authorizing body — here, the SUNY Board of Trustees — and is accountable to that authorizer and to the State for its academic and operational performance [2]. Charter schools in New York do not charge tuition, and families apply rather than being assigned by an attendance boundary. Rules of this kind are set in state law; the school’s own admissions calendar and procedures are set by the school and should be confirmed directly with it.
This profile summarizes information available from the school’s official website, its 2023-24 annual report, and NYSED’s public data profile. All figures are dated and are identified with their reporting period.
Location and School Identity
Manhattan Charter School’s verified address is 100 Attorney Street, New York, NY 10002 [3]. The school’s 2023-24 annual report lists its district or community school district of location as CSD #1 – Manhattan, the Lower East Side of Manhattan [2]. The school’s published telephone number is (212) 533-2743, and its official website is https://www.manhattancharterschool.org [1][3].
Two state identifiers distinguish this school in official records: a BEDS code of 310100860873 and an institution ID of 800000057944 [1]. The same institution ID appears in the school’s own annual report [2]. Because charter school names in New York City can be similar, and because a school’s location does not by itself define who may attend, readers comparing schools should confirm they are looking at the record tied to these identifiers.
It is also worth separating three different things that are often conflated: the school’s physical location in Manhattan Community School District 1 [2]; its status as a charter school authorized by the SUNY Board of Trustees [2]; and its admissions process, which is administered by the school rather than by a district attendance zone. The annual report places the school in CSD 1 as a matter of location; that placement does not create a neighborhood attendance right.
Grades and Academic Programs
Manhattan Charter School serves kindergarten through grade 5 [3]. The school states that it maintains an intentionally small learning environment and that no class enrolls more than 25 students [3].
In its 2023-24 annual report, the school states a mission centered on teaching students how to learn and to enjoy learning, cultivating curious minds, and building a foundation for wise choices [2]. Beyond that statement, the grade span, and the class-size commitment, the sources reviewed for this profile do not describe a specific curriculum model, instructional framework, specialized program, or extracurricular offering in verifiable detail. Families seeking information about a particular subject area, intervention, or enrichment program should ask the school directly rather than rely on general descriptions of charter elementary schools.
What is verified about the program
- Grade span: kindergarten through grade 5 [3].
- Class size: no more than 25 students per class, as stated by the school [3].
- School type: public charter elementary school authorized by the SUNY Board of Trustees [2].
- Single campus: the school describes itself as operating one elementary school [3].
Items such as a published curriculum sequence, assessment calendar, or list of clubs are not documented in the sources used here and are therefore not described.
Enrollment and School Data
NYSED’s school profile reports 184 total students at Manhattan Charter School for the 2024-25 school year [1]. This is a point-in-time enrollment count for one school year; charter school enrollment can change from year to year and should not be treated as a fixed capacity figure.
NYSED’s profile page for the school also collects school climate indicators, including attendance, suspension, and chronic absenteeism measures, along with assessment and educator information [1]. Specific values for those measures were not included in the material reviewed for this profile, so they are not reported here. No student-teacher ratio, demographic breakdown, or state assessment result for this school was available in the sources examined. Readers who need those figures should consult the NYSED profile directly, where the current reporting year and any data suppression notes are shown alongside each measure.
One caution applies to all of the above: enrollment size and climate indicators describe a population and a reporting period. They are not measures of school quality on their own, and they should be read together with the reporting year and with the school’s own program information.
Admissions and Enrollment
The school’s website invites families to apply for kindergarten through fifth grade [3]. Because Manhattan Charter School is a charter school rather than a zoned district school, families apply to the school rather than being assigned to it. Under New York State charter school law, charter schools are tuition-free and open to all eligible students, and when the number of applicants exceeds available seats, admission is determined by lottery. That is general context about how charter school admission works in New York State; the school’s own application window, lottery dates, waitlist rules, and enrollment paperwork are set by the school and can change from year to year.
Readers should therefore treat the following as the reliable path: check the school’s official website for the current application process and deadlines, and contact the school at (212) 533-2743 with questions about eligibility, grade availability, and required documents [1][3]. Nothing in the available evidence indicates that living near the Attorney Street campus guarantees a seat.
Student Services and Family Information
The sources reviewed confirm the school’s address, telephone number, and website [1][3], and identify the SUNY Board of Trustees as its charter authorizer as of June 30, 2024 [2]. They do not document specific service offerings such as special education programming, English language learner support, transportation, meals, after-school care, or accessibility accommodations at this campus.
As general context rather than a statement about this school, charter schools in New York are public schools and are subject to federal and state requirements concerning students with disabilities and English language learners, and to state charter school law and oversight by their authorizer. Families who need details about how any of those requirements are implemented at Manhattan Charter School — including evaluation timelines, service models, or transportation eligibility — should request that information from the school office directly, since the available sources do not describe them.
History and Community Context
Manhattan Charter School’s initial charter was approved on July 1, 2004, and the school first opened for instruction on September 6, 2005, according to its 2023-24 annual report [2]. The same report identifies the SUNY Board of Trustees as the school’s authorizer as of June 30, 2024 [2]. The school is located in Manhattan Community School District 1, on the Lower East Side [2][3].
No other verified milestones — such as charter renewals, expansions, or campus changes — appear in the sources reviewed, and none are asserted here.
How to Verify Current Information
School policies, application dates, and program details change. To confirm current information, use these sources:
- The school’s official website, https://www.manhattancharterschool.org, for application information, program descriptions, and announcements [1][3].
- The school office at (212) 533-2743 for questions about enrollment, grade availability, and services [1][3].
- The NYSED school profile at https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000057944 for state-reported enrollment, climate, and assessment data, with the reporting year shown for each measure [1].
- The school’s charter authorizer, the SUNY Board of Trustees, for charter oversight and renewal information [2].