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Highlights

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Digital Den

Share your Bobcat pride and explore organized printables and activities that help students build strong habits, practice key skills, and grow in confidence—while giving families simple tools to support learning every day.

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Neighborhood Services

What if every young person was surrounded by caring adults and families who were true partners in their education and co-creators of Excellence?

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Special Education

Student Support Services at ECS focuses on special populations such as scholars with learning disabities, English language learners, and those with 504 plans.

Important Dates

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Bronx Excellence Alumnus Mohamed Diallo '18 (Yale '26) wears a Yale college sweater while posing in front of an Excellence Community Schools backdrop.
A smiling young girl in a school uniform stands in front of several %22Best%22 badges from US News & World Report, indicating her school's high rankings.
Congratulations Dr. Charlene Reid, 2025 Power Women of the Bronx honoree.
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Celebrating a Year of Achievement

A look back at a monumental 2025-26 school year across all 17 Excellence schools.

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Become a Bobcat for Life

Join the Excellence community! Apply now for the 2026-27 school year.

Apply Now

Excellence Digital Den

For Excellence scholars, parents, prospective families, faculty, and staff.

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Student Advancement

Your journey to Excellence doesn't end after 8th grade. From high school placement through college (and beyond), we're here to help.

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Excellence Scholars on PBS

Bronx Excellence 1 Middle School's NYBG Nature Club is taking center stage on PBS’s "Cyberchase" with their community garden project.

Watch

Bronx Excellence Alumnus Mohamed Diallo '18 (Yale '26) wears a Yale college sweater while posing in front of an Excellence Community Schools backdrop.

Bronx Excellence 1 alumnus Mohamed Diallo '18 talks about his work on the "Shining Light on Truth" exhibit and how our faculty, staff, and special programming helped him achieve success at Fordham Prep and Yale.

Watch

A smiling young girl in a school uniform stands in front of several %22Best%22 badges from US News & World Report, indicating her school's high rankings.

Our ECS campuses were recognized by U.S. News & World Report among the Best Elementary and Middle Schools in the nation. 

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Congratulations Dr. Charlene Reid, 2025 Power Women of the Bronx honoree.

Co-CEO Dr. Charlene Reid was honored by Schneps Media at the 2025 Power Women of the Bronx event for her efforts to make the Bronx a thriving place to live and work.

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Apply Now

There are still a limited number of seats available.

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Inspire Excellence

Excellence wanted! Are you passionate about educating young minds? Learn more about our job openings.

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Reach Excellence

Let's go Bobcats! Dive into our CSAA athletics and recreational sports programs.

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Find an

Excellence Community School

Near You

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Be Excellent.

Excellence Community Schools prepares young people in New York City and Stamford to compete for admission to and succeed in top public, private and parochial high schools by cultivating their intellectual, artistic, social, emotional, and ethical development. We accomplish this by offering a challenging and rigorous academic curriculum, which at the earliest of grades has an eye toward college preparation. We achieve this in a supportive and caring environment that maintains high expectations for all students.

Excellence at a Glance

1st

Charter school in the Bronx, NY recorgnized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Dept. of Education in 2012.

 

1st

Charter school in Stamford, CT.
In 2015, Stamford Excellence was the first K-8 charter to open in Stamford, CT.

 

4,100

K-8th grade scholars at 17 Schools. Our elementary and middle schools are located in the Bronx, NY and Stamford, CT.
 

100%

High school matriculation. Each school year, all 8th graders are placed in selective, specialized, private or other high schools.
 

80%

Bronx Excellence scholars outperform 80% of NY students in English Language Arts. Our curriculum prepares scholars to perform well on state exams.

75%

Bronx Excellence scholars outperform 75% of NY students in math. Our curriculum offers test-taking skills and confidence-boosting strategies.

13

Athletic titles.
Scholars participate in the Charter School Athletics Association (CSAA) league.

 

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The Excellence Model

This model is the basis for the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award from the U.S. Department of Education in the category of Exemplary High-Performing Schools.

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RISE UP

ECS advances student achievement by creating a culture that inculcates positive work habits and develops lifelong scholars. 

Learn More about RISE UP

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Careers

As we continue to expand, we are looking for passionate educators and professionals to join us in making a lasting impact on students’ lives.

Learn More about Careers

Special Education

Student Support Services at ECS focuses on special populations such as scholars with learning disabities, English language learners, and those with 504 plans.

Learn More about Special Education

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Family & Community

The Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team at Excellence leverages community resources to partner with families to support scholars in obtaining a high-quality education.

Learn More about Family & Community

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Bobcat Pride

Sports at ECS include volleyball, basketball, flag football, and more.

Learn More about Bobcat Pride

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Voices of Excellence

Voices of Excellence

"I heard the [school] interviewer start to ask him questions, the way he responded, I was amazed. I could not believe that this was my child. His vocabulary, the way he was speaking, I could feel the confidence in his voice...that was when I realized that I had hit the school jackpot."

Deniel Parent of the Class of 2026

"To be a scholar, to me, it feels like you can be anything, engineers, scientists, a chemist, anything... it means you could accomplish [Excellence]."

Aliou Class of 2029

 

"I was very involved here. That's because I wanted to put my name out there and just for people to see who I am... I feel like because of [Excellence] and because I had the grades and I had the networking, it always pushed me to just be out there and just strive for greatness."

Ms. Perez Alumni Staff at Bronx Excellence 5

I believe that Excellence provided resources that were not just educational but socioeconomic resources as well... Excellence was able to bridge that gap for families to have access to boarding schools, to have access to higher education.

Daniela Class of 2019

Bronx Excellence 2 Principal Sharleen Morris smiles while seated at a classroom desk.

To be a [former] principal of one of our National Blue Ribbon Schools has been a tremendous honor. Our teachers and staff have done so much to prepare our scholars for such a rigorous academic curriculum and they show them so much love that we've been able to achieve the results that we have.

Sharleen Morris Deputy Chief of School Performance

I had the role of being both a teacher and a parent at the school... My daughter grew socially and academically... I couldn't think about her being where she is now without the level of preparation and rigor that she was getting right here at Bronx Charter School for Excellence (BCSE).

Allen Michel Assistant Principal at Bronx Excellence 3 & Parent of the Class of 2022 

Toran '24 poses in his Xavier high school sweater.

I had amazing teachers that helped me whenever I needed it. The whole staff supported me and really brought me to where I am today.

Toran Class of 2024 

[My son] attended a different school for kindergarten. He was one of the brightest kids in his class, and I wanted him to be in a place where I felt like he was going to be challenged. ECS did that for him, and I appreciated that even though sometimes the work was a little hard the staff was very supportive.

Jana Parent of the Class of 2024

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