The demand for city charter schools has hit a record high with 79,000 applications for the upcoming school year. That’s up from 73,000 last year and 54,000 in 2011, according to the New York City Charter School Center.

Earlier this year, Success Academy was approved for two new middle schools – SA East Flatbush, and SA Lafayette. SA Lafayette would be the one SA is proposing to locate at the space approved for SA Bed-Stuy 3 at PS25 Eubie Blake building at 787 Lafayette Avenue. When the Hon. Judge Levine issued a stay on May 24th to keep P.S. 25 Eubie Blake open while the lawsuit parents have brought to keep it open gets resolved, what was not discussed was the impact this decision would have on the Success Academy’s (SA) plans to open a middle school at this location.

In their effort to remake American education, charter schools have never quite shaken controversy. But one such school is trying to rethink soccer education as well. Success Academy, the largest charter school network in New York City, serving some 15,500 students, is integrating soccer through the curricula of about 5,000 of them.

A Bronx teen made the stunning journey from a homeless shelter to a full ride at MIT — and is crediting Success Academy for lighting his path. Moctar Fall, of The Bronx, is one of 16 members of the charter school network’s first graduating high-school class — all of whom nabbed spots at four-year colleges ranging from Barnard and Tufts to Stony Brook and Emory.

As New York City parents debate proposals to increase diversity at public schools on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, one example of integration is Success Academy, a charter school that faced stiff opposition when it opened in fall of 2011. Success Academy Upper West, on West 84th Street, roughly reflects the racial makeup of the area. With 443 children in kindergarten through fourth grade, the school was among the top performers citywide on state tests last year, according to city data.

Tomorrow Success Academy will graduate its first class of seniors, all of whom compared offers from selective colleges before deciding where to enroll in the fall. With appreciation for what Success Academy has accomplished with its first graduating class, Chris Teare asked Ms. Moskowitz a few questions.

At the Success Academy Bronx 2 Middle School, teachers identified 13 students who needed special education this school year. But the city’s Education Department only approved help for one of them. Success Academy, the city’s largest charter school network, is now alleging discrimination by the Education Department.

Success Academy unveiled a new turf soccer field at its Harlem North Central school on Thursday. Formerly an expanse of cracking cement, the play yard also features two full-length basketball courts and a playground. Nearly 1,000 children from Success Academy and P.S. 175 Henry H. Garnet, which shares the building on West 134th Street, will regularly play and train there.

Ashley Wilson, a Kindergarten Teacher at Success Academy Harlem 3 was one of 17 winners of New York City’s Big Apple Award, a competitive prize that rewards “exceptional success” in instruction, impact on student learning, and overall contributions to school communities.