Envision Schools, Inc.
"Teaching Success"
Mission
At Envision Schools, we transform the lives of our students, especially those who will be the first in their family to attend college, by preparing them for success in college and in life. Our schools are true communities marked by intentional diversity, rigorous academic discipline, and excellence at every level, where compassion and high expectations inspire and empower our students. As such, Envision is a model for public high schools everywhere.
Profile
Founded in 2002, Envision Schools (ES) is a non-profit charter management organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which operates innovative college-preparatory high schools that educate diverse student bodies, especially First Generation College Bound youth. Envision currently operates four Arts & Technology-based public charter schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The essential elements of Envision Schools' award-winning educational model are:
• Project-based, college-prep curriculum that not only engages students but also helps them to develop essential 21st century skills;
• Small, personalized learning communities, with enrollment at each school limited to 450 students, class size limited to an average of 22, and the same team of teachers providing students with academic and social guidance for two consecutive years;
• Rigorous expectations for all students, with every graduate required to pass all mandated state tests, complete the course sequence required by the UC/CSU systems, and demonstrate mastery of both academic and other skills through public exhibitions and the oral defense of a Graduation Portfolio; and
• Integration of real-world experience, with juniors and seniors required to participate in academically integrated semester-long internships.
Results
Envision Schools is achieving outstanding results with a student body that is 61% African American or Latino, 55% First Generation College Bound, 60% eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch, and 12% eligible for Special Education services:
• 100% of our graduates complete the required course sequence for UC/CSU eligibility. Statewide, 25% of African-American and Latino high school graduates complete the UC/CSU required course sequence.
• In the 2007-08 school year, 73% of ES seniors were accepted to a 4-year college.
• Each of three Envision schools during its second year achieved the highest API gain of any high school in its respective school district. In 2007, an Envision school gained more than 90 points while the average San Francisco high school lost 6 points on its API score.
Data-driven inquiry is at the heart of Envision Schools’ current assessment practices. At the school level individual student achievement is assessed through: standards-based individual performance assessments, including evaluations of student portfolios, projects, and exhibitions (quarterly); review of student course loads (every semester); review of student grades, A-F system (quarterly); and results from the state’s standardized testing program, including the California Standards Test and the California High School Exit Examination. Each school site schedules weekly sessions in which teachers review and analyze student results and share classroom observations. Members of the Support Office education leadership team meet weekly with school principals to assess whole school effectiveness.
