Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School and Phoenix Academy

About Us: East Palo Alto Charter School (EPACS) was founded by parents in 1997 to provide high quality education to students in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park (the Ravenswood City School District). In 2006, East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy (EPAPA), our sister high school, opened its doors.

Who we serve: EPACS serves 421 students with 26 staff for grades K-6. EPAPA currently has 321 students in grades 7-12. Both schools have achieved amazing results: in a community where over half of the students don’t finish high school in four years, 100% of our graduating seniors are accepted to four-year colleges and universities.

EPACS and EPAPA part of Aspire Public Schools, a network of public charter schools that provide high quality college prep education to over 13,500 underserved students in California. Aspire is the highest performing large school system serving predominantly low-income students in the state.

The Need: Only 20% of high school students of color in the Silicon Valley graduate college eligible. Approximately 10% of EPA residents have a bachelors degree and EPA's high school dropout rate is estimated to be over 70%. In a community with a broken education system, our students are changing the odds--and need your support.