Success Academy Charter Schools (SA) is a charter school network in New York City, which operates 47 free public charter schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. ¹ SA aims to provide students with high quality education, allowing them to exceed New York State testing standards and ultimately be successful in college and a competitive global economy. ²

Activities

Success Academy supports public policy that expands school choice, especially seeking to raise the cap on charter schools in New York. Success claims that the current cap is preventing students from having access to quality educational opportunities. As part of its advocacy efforts, Success Academy facilitated virtual meetings between nearly 300 parents and 45 New York State elected officials in support of raising the charter school cap. ³

Success Academy encourages its students to participate in advocacy and supported a group of twenty of its middle school students who spoke to members of the Panel for Education Policy at a 2022 joint public hearing. The students spoke ahead of an April 2022 vote, in support of a space for Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Brooklyn, so that they could continue their education at a Success Academy school. ⁴

In February 2022, Success Academy published results from the 2019 New York State exams showing that Success schools were outperforming other New York City charter and public middle schools in both math and English language arts mastery. The network claims that much of its middle school students’ success comes from Success Academy’s diverse offering of electives, clubs, and teams; its social-emotional support; and its culture and learning environment. ⁵

Funding

Success Academy Charter Schools receives funding from donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While Success Academy Charter Schools does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Kovner Foundation ($2.9 million in 2018), ⁶ the Robin Hood Foundation ($2.15 million in 2019), ⁷ and the Broad Foundation ($1.13 million in 2017). ⁸

People

Founder

Eva Moskowitz is the founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools and the former chair of the New York City Council’s Education Committee. ⁹ Moskowitz is also the CEO of Success Foundation Inc, from which she received compensation of $755,000 in 2019. ¹⁰

Board of Directors

Steve Galbraith is the chair of the board of Success Academy and was formerly appointed to be an advisor to the Office of Financial Research by the Department of the Treasury. ¹¹

Suzie Kovner is the vice chair of the board of Success Academy and the founder and vice president of the Kovner Foundation. ¹²

Mary Berner is the lead director of the board of Success Academy and sits on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Fuller Project, and Common Sense Growth, a for profit subsidiary of Common Sense Media. ¹³

Diahann Billings-Burford formerly worked as the vice president of the Time Warner Foundation and as New York’s chief service officer for former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Billings-Burford sits on the boards of buildOn, Philanthropy New York, and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. ¹⁴

Sir John Hood is the president and CEO of the Robertson Foundation. ¹⁵

C. Melvin Ike sits on the board of the Marshall Project. ¹⁶

John Petry is a co-founder of Democrats for Education Reform and the past chair of Education Reform Now. ¹⁷

Other members of the board include Rich Pzena, treasurer, Kent Yalowitz, secretary, Rich Barrera, Joel Greenblatt, S. Fitzgerald Haney, Kevin Liles, Yen Liow, Daniel Loeb, Robert Niehaus, Angele Robinson-Gaylord, and Simon Shaw. ¹⁸

1. ^[1] “Locations.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/locations/.
2.   Success Academy Charter Schools Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part III, Line 1.
3. “SA Staff Partner With Parents on Advocacy.” Success Academy Charter Schools, February 14, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/sa-staff-partner-with-parents-on-advocacy/.
4. “Middle Schoolers Advocate for New High School.” Success Academy Charter Schools, April 22, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/middle-schoolers-advocate-for-new-high-school/.
5. “Sorting Out Your Choices: How Do Success Academy Middle Schools Compare?” Success Academy Charter Schools, February 11, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/education-blog/sorting-out-your-choices-how-do-success-academy-middle-schools-compare/.
6.  The Kovner Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
7. Robin Hood Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
8.  The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3a.
9. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
10.  ^[1] Success Foundation Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
11. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
12.  “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
13.  “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
14. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
15. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
16. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
17. “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.
18.  “Leadership.” Success Academy Charter Schools, 2022. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.successacademies.org/leadership/.