Envision Schools (ES) was founded in June 2002 as a 501(c)(3) charter school management organization to bring high quality college preparatory education to communities with the greatest need, with the goal of sending all the organization's students to college. Envision Schools targets underserved urban youth, particularly those who are first in their families to attend college, in communities of color and neighborhoods served by underperforming public schools. Each Envision School is academically rigorous and integrates art and technology across the curriculum to instill the critical thinking and creative skills necessary for students to be successful in college and beyond. Today, Envision Schools operates four schools in the Bay Area – two in San Francisco, one in Oakland, and one in Hayward.
Our Philosophy
Social Justice, applied. Nationally, an average of 7,000 students drop out of high school every day. A high school dropout is four times as likely to be unemployed, and if they are employed, they'll earn 60% less than a college graduate. A solid high school education can be the great equalizer.
Superior Educational Model Rigor: We employ a rigorous, project-based college-prep curriculum that sets high expectations for everyone, and we give our students the skills and motivation they need to meet them. Relationships: Our schools are small, personalized learning environments. Class size is limited and teams of teachers and peers provide students with academic and social guidance. Relevance: Education must have meaning everyday. Our faculty creates curriculum around current events, personal backgrounds, historical realities, and integrates academic competency with 21st century skills. Results: Our students consistently outscore their peers on standardized tests. Most important, they leave Envision with the desire and skills to succeed in college and beyond.
Excellence by Design It is our intention that our schools operate on high standards. That goes for everyone here, from organizational management to administrators to teachers and students. In that way, we all become models for the success we're teaching.
The Wisdom of Diversity To prepare our students for a diverse world, we create diverse student populations, from every different social, economic, intellectual strata. In fact, Envision targets underserved urban youth, particularly those who are first in their families to attend college. And we teach them all to succeed, together.
Work Hard. Succeed. Repeat. By showing the way high schools should work, we catalyze state and national education reform, prove the case faster and deeper, and can deliver our model of education with more scale and political impact.
