Case Study:
Lighthouse Community Charter School is a K–12 school for low-income students in Oakland. In its first year, the school opened with less than 100 students. Lighthouse has grown to serve over 800 students across grade K-12 at two school locations: Lighthouse and Lodestar. Of the first high school graduating class of 21 students, all were accepted to four-year colleges or universities—92% are the first in their family to go to college.
Lighthouse’s new facility and adjoining yards create a new haven for teaching and learning in Oakland. The campus houses 70,000 square feet of classrooms and offices, a full-service K-12 library, two state-of-the art media labs, art and music studios, a multi-purpose space and kitchen, a family resource center, two internal learning courtyards, and a yard complete with a flex field, age-appropriate play structures, gardens, and community spaces.
Mission
The mission of Lighthouse Community Charter School is to prepare a diverse K–12 student population for college or a career of their choice by equipping each child with the knowledge, skills, and principles to be a self-motivated, lifelong learner.
Results
Lighthouse has demonstrated increasing results each year since opening its doors in 2002, making it a recognized leader in Oakland and the State of California. The K–8 program recently received the highest possible ranking—10 out of 10—when compared to all other schools in the State of California serving similar students. The 9–12 program is now one of the top three high schools in Oakland regardless of students served or income levels.
EdTec Partnership
Back-Office Services: Lighthouse has been an EdTec back-office client since July 2004. EdTec is proud to support Lighthouse’s outstanding teachers, school leaders, office staff, board members, and students.
Facility Support: EdTec helped the school develop a strategic financial plan for its long-term facility solution. This included modeling the financial impact of various options, including purchasing a private facility, using State Bond funds to build a facility and operating on a Prop 39 facility. EdTec’s support helped the Lighthouse board make strategic decisions in pursuing a plan to purchase their own facility.
Additional Services: EdTec has also provided a variety of supplemental services including PowerSchool and CSIS assistance and support in developing the school’s Charter School Facilities Program (Proposition 1D) application.
Learn more about how Lighthouse is accomplishing their mission at http://www.lighthousecharter.org
“Our partnership with EdTec is priceless! The staff is responsive, smart, and hard-working. We couldn’t do the hard work of educating our students without their support and services.”
