Aspire Public Schools is a nonprofit charter school management organization that is creating and managing high-quality public charter schools throughout California. Aspire’s mission is to raise the academic achievement of the State’s diverse students, foster effective educators, catalyze change in public schools, and share successful practices with forward-thinking educators.
Aspire operates a system of small K-12 schools clustered in urban areas in California. Since its founding in 1998, Aspire has grown into an organization that now operates 21 schools in five California geographies (Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton/Lodi, Modesto, and Los Angeles), serving more than 6,000 children. For more information, visit www.aspirepublicschools.org
Founded by former President & CEO Don Shalvey, the organization has produced remarkable results on California test score assessments. As of April, 2009, Don Shalvey accepted a position with the education team at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Former Aspire COO James Willcox has ascended to become Aspire CEO.
In 2007, Aspire’s schools grew 37 API points on average, exceeding their state targets by more than nine times and the state average by more than six times. All Aspire schools made their AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) targets on the Mathematics portion of the CST (California Standards Test), while all but one Aspire school met the AYP target on the English Language Arts portion of the CST.
PCSD has created five campuses for Aspire Public Schools in Southern California. These include four elementary school sites and a 400-seat middle school campus in the City of Huntington Park. PCSD is providing facilities solutions for existing and future schools. Currently, PCSD is working on several new facilities throughout the State for Aspire.
Schools
| Centennial College Preparatory Academy: Middle School | |
| Site | 2071 Saturn Avenue, Huntington Park, CA 90255 |
| Neighborhood | City of Huntington Park, 3 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles |
| Seats Created | 400 |
| Project Page | |
| Aspire Junior Collegiate Academy & Titan Elementary Schools: Aspire | |
| Site | 6720-6724 S Alameda Street, Huntington Park CA 90255 |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Created | 544 |
| Project Page | |
| Aspire Antonio Maria Lugo Academy: Elementary School | |
| Site | 2665 Clarendon Ave., Huntington Park, CA 90255 |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Created | 170 |
| Project Page | |
| Former site to Antonio Maria Lugo Academy: Elementary School | |
| Site | 6410 Rita Avenue, Huntington Park, CA 90255 |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Created | 176 |
| Project Page | |
| Huntington Park Charter School: Elementary School | |
| Site | 6005 Stafford Avenue, Huntington Park CA 90255 |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Created | 188 |
| Project Page | |
| PCSD El Camino | |
| Site | 2360 El Camino Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95821 |
| Neighborhood | Ben Ali |
| Seats Created | 688 |
| Project Page | |
| West Lane Charter School: K-12 school | |
| Site | 2050 N. West Lane, Stockton CA 95207 |
| Neighborhood | Stockton |
| Seats Created | 1,017 |
| Project Page | |
| 58th & Pacific High School Phase I | |
| Site | 5721-5753 Pacific Ave. & 2518-2553 E. 58th St., Huntington Park, CA |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Proposed | 580 |
| Project Page | |
| 58th & Pacific High School Phase II | |
| Site | 5721-5753 Pacific Ave. & 2518-2553 E. 58th St., Huntington Park, CA |
| Neighborhood | Huntington Park |
| Seats Created | 400 |
| Project Page | |
| PCSD 66th Ave | |
| Site | 1099 66th Avenue, Oakland, CA 94621 |
| Neighborhood | Oakland |
| Seats Proposed | 570 |
| Project Page | |
| East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy | |
| Site | 1039 Garden St, Palo Alto, CA |
| Neighborhood | East Palo Alto |
| Seats Proposed | 406 |
| Project Page | |
