• About Us
  • History
  • Team
    • Job Openings
  • Board of Trustees
  • Partners, Supporters and Advisors
    
  • Charter Schools Background
    
  • The Leadership Way: Vision, Mission, and Values
    
  • Six Pillars of Educational Excellence
    

History

Leadership Public Schools is a non-profit organization founded by Mark Kushner in 2002 to replicate the success of San Francisco’s Leadership High School. Mr. Kushner founded San Francisco’s Leadership High School, a separate and distinct organization, in 1996. It was the first urban charter high school in California and among the most successful at serving inner city students. During Mr. Kushner’s tenure (1995-2002), Leadership High School sent 99% of its graduating students to college, achieved some of San Francisco’s highest Academic Performance Index (API) scores, and received the highest rankings possible for “similar schools” API scores (9 or 10 out of 10)

Mr. Kushner’s vision was to replicate the success of the Leadership High School model via a network of outstanding charter high schools throughout California. Over the past five years, Leadership Public Schools has opened five charter high schools in Richmond (2003), San Jose (2004), Oakland (2005), Hayward (2005), and Campbell (2006).

Leadership Public Schools has received unanimous charter renewals from its host districts and celebrated a 97% college acceptance rate for its first graduating class in 2007.