The fundamental belief at the Academy is that ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN. All children have the right to attend school in which they can progress and learn. They shall have a real opportunity to learn equally rigorous content. We hold our school accountable to the same standards as those of the highest performing schools in our state.

The Academy encourages teachers to engage in “Performance-based” instruction, so that our students learn both the basics and the higher-level skills they will need after graduation. Performance-based classes are more difficult to design and teach than the lecture approach, but they help children learn better and become excited about learning. Children learn by doing. Students are required to prove, through their projects and presentations, that they have mastered knowledge and skills in language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science.

• Students usually learn only what they were taught by the teacher in class.

• Teachers usually stress individual work.

• Students usually use only one skill at a time. Math, English, Science, and other subjects are taught separately from one another.

• Students learn how to solve simple multiple-choice or true-false problems that have only one right answer and are easy to grade.

• Students learn how to solve simple, specific problems that may have little to do with the real-life situations they face when they got out of school.

• Students are encouraged to be actively involved in their own learning. They are taught how to learn independently, as well as how to learn from the teacher.

• Students learn to work alone and in groups.

• Students learn to use many skills at the same time and to solve many complex tasks. Students are taught how to use the skills they learn in many different subjects to complete an activity.

• Students learn how to solve problems that require critical thinking and may have more than one right answer. Grading these answers usually takes more time.

• Students learn how to solve the kind of complex, real-life problems they will face when they start a career.

The mission of the Grand Concourse Academy Charter School is to create a challenging learning environment that addresses and meets the needs of students in New York City, especially those at-risk of academic failure. In a concentrated effort to prepare our students for entry into the very best high schools of New York City, the Academy will seek to foster a sense of strong character, ethics, and personal responsibility, as well as high expectations and academic success.

The Academy will place a strong emphasis on Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies, and will diligently seek to prepare students to meet and/or exceed NYS performance standards in ELA, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

The Academy will support and encourage professional development opportunities aligned to the instructional program, and will diligently seek and encourage active parental involvement and participation in the academic goals of the students. In addition, the school will seek to involve and engage a variety of community organizations and community leaders as partners to enhance the academic success of every student.

Our goal is to create and maintain an environment that is fair, safe, and nurturing for both staff and students. We hold true to the belief that excellence in education is the minimum that we will accept for every child and take pride in the reality that we are caring professionals.

Grand Concourse Academy Charter School was founded in 2004, serving 180 students from kindergarten through grade 2. Each year, the school continued to grow by one additional grade until we reached grade 5. In the spring of 2015, we were authorized by the State University of New York to extend our curriculum to grade 8. We are currently Kindergarten through 7 school for the 2016-2017 school year. Beginning in September 2017, we will be a K-8 school.

In the summer of 2015, our school relocated to the Monsignor Scanlan High School campus. Our school is now located in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx in district 8, which allows us to accommodate our current enrollment of 550 students.

We are privileged to have a dedicated Board of Trustees, staff and parent partners, that work as a team to help ensure we reach our goals. It is our responsibility to ensure an equal opportunity for all students to make consistent and adequate gains in reaching their potential.

We are certain we can continue to count on your assistance in raising the bar so that our children can continue to attend the very best school in New York City.

Grand Concourse Academy Charter School
925 Hutchinson River Parkway
Bronx, New York 10465

We are now located on the
 Monsignor Scanlan High School Campus!

Please use the entrance on Brush Avenue,
located next to The Home Depot,
when visiting our school.

Transportation to the school:

The Q44 and the Q50 bus stop on the corner of Hutchinson River Parkway and Lafayette Avenue. There are numerous ways to connect to either bus from the Bronx and Queens. Below are two ways to connect to the Q44? by train:

* Take the 6 train to East 177 Street - Parkchester Station, and transfer to the Q44 bus (LTD Jamaica Merrick Bl via Main St.) from Westchester Ave - Virginia Ave station to Lafayette Avenue.

* Take the 2 or 5 train to West Farms Square - East Tremont Ave, and transfer the Q44? bus (LTD Jamaica Merrick Bl via Main St.) from East Tremont Ave - Boston Road Station to Lafayette Avenue.