- Data Portal
- > School Profile
Ember Charter School for Mindful Education; Innovation; and Transformation
Ember Charter School for Mindful Education; Innovation; and Transformation, nominated by an anonymous organization, is an elementary/middle/high school in Brooklyn, New York, that describes itself as a public charter school serving learners from a primarily urban area.
Location Brooklyn, New York
Governance Public Charter School
Grades Elementary, Middle, High
Students 350
Locale Urban
Managing Partner Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II
Demographics
Percentage of students*
20%
English Learners
80%
Free/Reduced Lunch
40%
Students with Disabilities
African American or Black 75%
American Indian/Alaska Native —
Asian —
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —
Hispanic or Latino 23%
White —
2+ Races —
Why Ember Charter School for Mindful Education; Innovation; and Transformation was nominated
Deep cultural and identify focus. Centered on Afrocentric curriculum. Teacher pathways modeled after law firms where teachers are partners. Experiential / exposure model. New definitions and models of student success. Rafiq and his team are intently focused on creating a beloved community in which all students feel affirmed. The team at Ember has built and intentionally mindful learning environment that prioritizes inquiry in academics and student social-emotional development.
Student experience design
We fundamentally believe that if our society shifts the focus of schooling for youth from high poverty communities away from information acquisition to holistic human development, students will be empowered to escape generational poverty, heal and thrive interpersonally from the deeply debilitating trauma of persistent poverty and racism. Such young people will emerge into adulthood as whole and healthy people well skilled in engaging in thoughtful analysis about our world’s biggest problems, with the brave and kind hearts and brilliant minds to solve them. Ember endeavors to serve as a catalyst for this process. Built on a foundation forged by the independent Black-schools movement from the 1960s and 70s, our “Ember Way” model operationalizes our trauma- and culturally-responsive approach to close the racial achievement and wealth gaps. We nurture and cultivate self-efficacy, social emotional healing and economic fluency as the primary tools for disrupting generational cycles of poverty, racism, and inequity. We recognize the debilitating impact of trauma on our students’ self-esteem and cognitive development, thus we emphasize the importance of love, agency, curiosity, self-direction, critical thinking, and physical and mental health. Each day we endeavor to serve as modern day conductors on the socio-economic Underground Railroad.
Core Practices
| Core Practices | Length of Use |
|---|---|
|
Co-leadership |
5+ years
|
|
Family And Community Support Services |
5+ years
|
|
Culturally Responsive Practices |
5+ years
|
|
SEL Integration School-wide |
5+ years
|
|
Trauma-informed Practices |
5+ years
|
All Practices
Advancement On Mastery
Student Advisories
Anti-racist Practices
Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning
Assessments For Career Readiness
Assessments For Deeper Learning
Assessments For Social-emotional Skills
Blended Learning
Career Advising & Support
Career Exploration
College Advising & Support
Community And Workforce Partnerships
Competency/mastery-based Education
Disaggregated Data On Student Participation
Early College High School
Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles
Grading Policies Focus On Mastery
Higher Education Partnerships
All Courses Designed For Inclusion
Interoperable Data From Multiple Technologies
Individual Learner Profiles
Individual Learning Paths
Mental Health Services
Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics
No Tracked Classes
Project-based Learning
Peer To Peer Support
Performance Based Assessment
Reallocation Of Resources For Students Most In Need
Restorative Practices
SEL Curriculum
Student-led Conferences
Students Access Their Own Data
Student-led Goal Setting
Students Develop Projects
Universal Design For Learning
Career Prep
key reasons for innovating
Address systemic inequities
Demonstrate what’s possible for other schools
Improve student mental health
Date Updated: 4/1/2026
*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.