Amber Staff transparency
As a public school its principals are named through the NYC DOE, but the school's own public-facing staff and credential listings are thin. Why this matters →
Snapshot
See the school
Mott Haven
Mott Haven — the South Bronx's fast-changing "SoBro" arts district — mixes historic brownstone rows and brick apartment blocks under the elevated 6 train, with a growing family population and new waterfront parks along the Harlem River.
Overview
Choice Charter School bills itself as NYC's first public Montessori school. It's a free, tuition-less public charter in Mott Haven serving roughly 180–200 children from PreK through 5th grade, running Montessori classrooms with two co-teachers each. (It was renamed from "New York City Montessori Charter School.")
Programs & ages
PreK through Grade 5 in mixed-age Montessori classrooms — a rare chance to continue Montessori into the elementary years at no cost.
Cost & access
It's free — a public charter, so there's no tuition. Admission is by public lottery rather than private application, and it's open to all NYC students. This makes it one of the few genuinely free routes into Montessori through elementary; see our free 3-K & Pre-K guide for the broader free/public picture.
Leadership
As a public charter, its principals (Abeku Hayes and Alyssa Norris) are listed through the NYC DOE. Beyond leadership, the school's public site is light on named staff and credentials — hence the Amber transparency rating.
Authenticity
It follows the Montessori model but is not stated to be AMS- or AMI-accredited, and — like all publicly-funded programs — must fold in city/state curriculum requirements. Treat it as a Montessori-method public school; see the authenticity guide.
What parents say
Independent review volume is limited for this school. We'd rather show nothing than inflate it — check InsideSchools and the DOE's school-survey data for the most current parent/teacher sentiment.
Heard around town
Signals from public parent forums and listservs and our own parent & alumni interviews. Forum chatter is opinion — take it with a grain of salt; interview quotes are first-hand and shared with permission.
Admissions
Apply through the public-charter lottery (free). Charter admissions run on their own timeline, separate from the private-school ISAAGNY calendar and the DOE 3-K/Pre-K MySchools process — check the school's site for the current application window.