History:

In 2000, Foundation for a Greater Opportunity, a foundation funded by Carl C. Icahn, applied to open a charter elementary school in the South Bronx. The application, in partnership with CEI-PEA, was submitted to SUNY’s Charter Schools Institute, which approved the charter in March 2001.

The school was built at 1525 Brook Avenue and opened for K-2 grades in September 2001, with 108 students. The school has added a grade each year. A middle school building was built for grades 5-8 and opened in 2008.

The school’s program is based on the Tennessee Class-Size Study’s findings that small classes in the early grades have long-lasting benefits. Our students’ achievement was so extraordinary that we expanded to continue through middle school.  We are building on that success and have opened two more charter schools in the Bronx, one in 2007 and one in 2008.  We have been granted a fourth charter as well.

Along with his varied and successful professional projects, Carl C. Icahn created the Foundation for a Greater Opportunity. One of its primary missions is to improve education in New York City. Mr. Icahn’s goal is to prove that all children can learn if they are in a rigorous academic program. He believes that charter schools can radically improve public education. The accountability and autonomy of charter schools assure that the schools will be held to a high standard.

The board of Carl C. Icahn Charter School includes leaders in education, health and the corporate sector.