Charter Schools

ADVANCED VIRTUAL ACADEMY—CLOSED MAY 2017
1102 Telephone

The Advanced Virtual Academy opened in August 2009 on the campus of Scarborough High School. Serving students in grades 9-12, this school offers a flexible alternative to traditional education through online courses and the assistance, supervision, and support of on-site teachers. Although students can access their courses from home, attendance is taken daily at a brick-and-mortar facility. Currently, the program is in operation at several satellite locations throughout the district.

ADVANTAGE EAST END HIGH SCHOOL—CLOSED FEBRUARY 2009
7135 Office City

Advantage East End High School opened in August 2008 through a partnership with the Houston-based nonprofit organization Leaders in Education, Inc. It was designed to provide at-risk students with the opportunity to get on-the-job training, vocational trade certifications, and college credits. The school never reopened after Hurricane Ike.

ACCELERATED LEARNING AND TRANSITION ACADEMY (ALTA)—CLOSED MAY 2008
8329 Lawndale

Formerly known as the Accelerated Learning and Transition Academy, this school was one of five facilities HISD added to its family of charter schools in March 2001. ALTA served approximately 550 students in grades 6—9 in north-central Houston. It helped students who were at or below grade level, overage for their grades, recent immigrants, dropouts, imminent dropouts, or recovered dropouts to achieve academic success and make the transition into high school. The tools it used included personalized instruction and emphasis on citizenship, community service, and flexible scheduling.

BANNEKER-MCNAIR MATH/SCIENCE ACADEMY—CLOSED AUGUST 2007
4929 Griggs

Sometimes abbreviated to “BAMA,” this school was one of five facilities HISD added to its family of charter schools in March 2001. Located in southeast Houston, the Banneker-McNair Math/Science Academy provided an early-childhood program and an integrated curriculum for students in prekindergarten through grade 3. It focused on personalized and computer-assisted instruction, diverse groupings, and flexible organization.

DIVERSITY, ROOTS, AND WINGS (DRAW) CHARTER SCHOOL—CLOSED IN 2004
3920 Stony Brook

This school was one of five facilities HISD added to its family of charter schools in March 2001. The Diversity, Roots, and Wings Charter School served students in prekindergarten through grade 6 in southwest Houston. The interactive curriculum featured four-year cohorts and staggered school days that included personal-needs periods.

DOMINION ACADEMY---CLOSED JULY 2012
1102 Pinemont

The Dominion Academy opened in 2001 and served grades 6—8. Located in northwest Houston at 1102 Pinemont, it was founded by the Reverend James W. E. Dixon II of Northwest Community Baptist Church. Its students enjoyed instruction focusing on business, economics, leadership, and the entrepreneurial spirit, all of which, if mastered, would allow them to develop control—or dominion—over their own lives. It operated under contract with the nonprofit Good Gang U.S.A., Inc.

EIGHTH AVENUE CHARTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL—CLOSED MAY 2004
727 Waverly

In 1911, a small school for African-American children in the Houston Heights community opened at 13th Street and Waverly. The campus moved to its present location two years later and was renamed. A newer structure was completed in 1958.

ENERGIZED FOR EXCELLENCE
Multiple locations

Opened in 1998, this school serves students in prekindergarten through grade 8 at three adjacent locations in southwest Houston. The school is named for the enthusiastic attitude the school’s staff hopes to foster in its students.

ENERGIZED FOR STEM (E-STEM) ACADEMY (CENTRAL)
6102 Bissonnet (Gr. 9-12); 9220 Jutland (Gr. 6-8)

The Energized for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy (E-STEM) opened in August 2008 on the third floor of Jack Yates High School. It serves students in grades 6-12 who are interested in participating in rigorous and challenging studies in a non-traditional setting. The E-STEM course of studies was designed for creative students who learn best through hands-on experiences and are able to use technology as a springboard to deeper understanding of their academic course work. E-STEM students will be able to earn college credits while still in high school that will prepare them for postsecondary academics as well as technical careers in a variety of fields.

ENERGIZED FOR STEM-WEST
6107 Bissonnet

E-STEM West opened in August 2009 to serve students in grades 6-12 who are economically challenged; underrepresented in science-, technology-, and math-related fields, including engineering; at risk of not meeting the requirements of college study; and/or first-generation college-goers. The program is part of the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (T-STEM) Academies.

HIGH SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC SUCCESS--CLOSED DECEMBER 2011
6000 Heatherbrook Dr.

Located alongside the Leader's Academy on the campus of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, this school opened in August 2009 and servd at-risk students in grades 7-12. During its first year of operation, its student body came exclusively from Gulf Shores Academy, a troubled state charter school that ceased to exist.

HOPE ACADEMY -- SEVERED TIES WITH HISD IN JULY 2015
3015 North MacGregor Way

This school opened in August 2009 and is operated by Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church for students in grades 9-12 with economic, academic, and behavioral challenges who are at risk of not earning a high-school diploma. Hope Academy's flexible program will focus on academics, credit and learning recovery, character education, family involvement, and a culture of success leading to postsecondary education or vocational trade certifications.

INSPIRED FOR EXCELLENCE NORTH--CLOSED 2011
5426 Cavalcade

This was one of two charter schools created in partnership with Inspired for Excellence Academy, Inc., for average at-risk middle-school students. After opening in August 2008, it served students in the fifth- and sixth-grade levels. The education model incorporated a mentoring program using community role models, opportunities for service-learning activities that reinforce the curriculum, and comprehensive after-school tutoring and enrichment.

INSPIRED FOR EXCELLENCE ACADEMY, INC.
12525 Fondren

Inspired for Excellence Academy, Inc. was founded in 2008, as an HISD specialty charter school designed to provide accelerated learning for over-aged students in 5th through 8th grades aimed at getting them on track to graduate from High School on time. Inspired accepts HISD over-aged students year-round with the capacity to accommodate up to 300 students. Inspired for Excellence Academy, Inc. is now located at 12525 Fondren, Houston, Texas 77035.

KANDY STRIPE ACADEMY
8701 Delilah

This school is one of five facilities HISD added to its family of charter schools in March 2001. The Kandy Stripe Academy accommodates approximately 150 students in prekindergarten through grade 8 in southeast Houston. Its offerings include small classes, foreign-language instruction, and parent education.

KAZI SHULE—CLOSED MAY 2006
3815 Live Oak

This school opened in 1996 and served students in grades 4–6 in Houston’s Third Ward, just south of downtown. The name comes from Swahili, an African language, and means “the working school.” It is pronounced “KA-zay SHOO-lay.”

LEADER'S ACADEMY--CLOSED IN 2011 (BECAME A TEA CHARTER)
6011 West Orem

This school opened in fall 2007 in partnership with Kingdom Builder's Center, a nonprofit organization founded by Kirbyjon Caldwell. It was named for the character trait it most hopes to foster in its students—leadership—and was created to give tomorrow's leaders the solid academic foundation they need to succeed upon graduation. It served students in grades 9–12.

MOUNT CARMEL ACADEMY
7155 Ashburn

Previously known as Mt. Carmel High School (6700 Mount Carmel St., 77087), this former parochial school became an HISD charter school in August 2008 and moved to its current location. The school now serves students in grades 9–12, offering credit courses including Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses in a small, academically challenging high-school program. The goal is to give students—including those who are in at-risk situations—access to quality, flexible, and differentiated instruction that fits the needs of students pursuing the Recommended High School Program or the Distinguished Achievement Program.

NEW ASPIRATIONS--CLOSED JULY 2012
7055 Beechnut

New Aspirations was a new credit-recovery and dropout-prevention program associated with Community Education Partners (CEP). It was located at the same campus as CEP’s southwest campus and serves students in grades 9–12.

PLEASANT HILL ACADEMY—CLOSED MAY 2008
1305 Benson

Pleasant Hill Academy once shared space with HISD’s Northeast Administrative District offices, whose Pleasant Facility at 1305 Benson it purchased from the district in 2001. According to the first acting principal, George Casey, the school utilized the concepts found in Gordon Cawelti’s book, Portraits of Six Benchmark Schools: Diverse Approaches to Improving Student Achievement, to serve students primarily interested in art. It opened in the fall of 2002.

PRO-VISION--CLOSED JULY 2013
4422 Balkin

Known as “a place of second chances,” this school opened in 1989 under the name of Centripet I. Its objective was to provide boys with a small, highly structured, intimate, single-sex environment. Pro-Vision demanded intensive parental involvement, including mandatory parenting classes, community-service projects, mentoring, and camping trips. The school became affiliated with HISD in 1995, and in 1997 it became the first Houston school supported by both public and private interests to offer boarding facilities. The residential program ran from 1997 to 1999 in a facility located in Pasadena, but the school was renamed and moved back to Houston when the boarding program was discontinued. Pro-Vision served young men in grades 5–8.

PROJECT CHRYSALIS
4528 Leeland

Project Chrysalis is a charter school developed in 1995 by two former Teach for America participants, Kelly Garrett and Dennis Lee. It serves 105 students in grades 6—8 on the campus of Rufus Cage Elementary School. The name represents the transformation that occurs in children when they emerge from a nurturing, educational environment.

REACH CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL—CLOSED MAY 2017
520 Mercury

An outgrowth of the eponymous program at HISD’s Furr High School, the “REACH” in this school’s name is an acronym for Realizing Educational Achievement in the City of Houston. The school was designed to help dropouts return to school and graduate. It serves students between the ages of 17 and 20, and it opened in the fall of 2006.

ST. JOHN’S ACADEMY—CLOSED MAY 2008
2019 Crawford

This school was operated through a unique partnership with St. John’s United Methodist Church in downtown Houston. The brainchild of Rudy and Juanita Rasmus, this school strived to serve children from preschool through second grade in especially challenging situations, such as homelessness or health crises. Construction began on the school in 1998.

3-D ACADEMY—SEVERED TIES WITH HISD IN 2005, NOW A KIPP SCHOOL
1510 Jensen

The 3-D Academy was named for the qualities its teachers hope to instill in their young charges: desire, discipline, and dedication. Serving roughly 320 students in grades five through eight, this facility became a part of the HISD family of charter schools in 2001. It is located at 4610 East Crosstimbers in northeast Houston.

TEXAS CONNECTIONS ACADEMY AT HOUSTON
10550 Richmond Avenue, Suite #140

Launched in December 2008 as an electronic-course pilot program, the Texas Connections Academy at Houston combines the flexibility of working at home with personalized distance learning, strong parental involvement, and traditional public education to serve students in grades 3-12.

TSU/HISD LAB SCHOOL
3100 Cleburne, 1st Floor

This school is located on the Texas Southern University campus near downtown Houston. It opened in August 1995 and serves students in prekindergarten through grade 5. Working in partnership with TSU’s College of Education, this school is noted for pioneering new methods of teaching in smaller learning environments. It became a charter school in 2006.

VISION ACADEMY--CLOSED JULY 2013
4590 Wilmington

Opened in August 2009, the Vision Academy was an offshoot of the Pro-Vision School, which had been serving HISD male middle-school students for the past 13 years. The school's nontraditional program was designed to prepare male students in grades 9-12 to pursue postsecondary education or vocational trade certifications, and to serve students' families through a socio-educational program that included parent support groups, parent training, student community-service initiatives, and community involvement.

WILLIAM A. LAWSON INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY (WALIPP)--CLOSED JUNE 2011
3100 Cleburne

WALIPP was housed temporarily on the campus of Julius Dodson Elementary School until the renovation of a facility at 3810 Ruth Street was completed in the spring of 2003. The school was named for the Reverend William A. Lawson Jr., a social activist who marched with the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the pastor and founder of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. The school moved again in 2007 to 3100 Cleburne.

WESLEY CHARTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
800 Dillard

Mabel B. Wesley was Houston's first African-American female principal and mother of the publisher of the Forward Times. The school in northwest Houston named for her opened in 1949.

YMCA OF GREATER HOUSTON AREA CHARTER SCHOOL—SEVERED TIES WITH HISD IN MAY 2004
5614 H. Mark Crosswell

Opened and affiliated with HISD in August 1997, this charter school was located in a branch of the YMCA near the Medical Center. It served prekindergarten through grade 2.

YOUNG LEARNERS
8432 Bissonnet

Opened in January 2001, Young Learners is a charter school system that serves only prekindergarten students at 21 HISD schools. Young Learners collaborates with community day-care and Head Start centers to ensure that Houston’s “youngest learners” have a solid academic foundation. Their main office is located in southwest Houston.

YOUNG SCHOLARS ACADEMY FOR EXCELLENCE
1809 Louisiana

Opened in August 1997, this school serves prekindergarten through grade 8. The curriculum is designed to ensure that youngsters are prepared for the rigors of academia and features developmentally appropriate practices based on principles established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.