Ross Global Academy


Ross Global Academy Charter School, or RGA, was a public charter school located in Lower Manhattan. It opened in September 2006 with more than 160 students. It was closed in 2011 by New York City and state officials for various reasons, including poor performance.
The school was developed in collaboration with New York University's Steinhardt School and Ross School in East Hampton, which follows a spiral curriculum designed by William Thompson and Ralph Abraham. The school was initially slated to be housed in the same building as the NEST+m school, in the Lower East Side, a controversial decision which was eventually revised.
In its inception, the school was housed within the New York City Department of Education's headquarters, the Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers Street. The school began its 2006-2007 school year at full enrollment on September 4, 2006, with students in grades K, 1, 2, 6, and 7. It was a project of the Ross School in East Hampton. RGA was founded by Courtney Sale Ross, who is a philanthropist and the widow of Steve Ross, the former CEO of Time-Warner.
By 2009, RGA had expanded to serve grades K-8, and had moved to a new building on East 11th Street in the Lower East Side, which it stayed in until it closed in 2011.