Leadership first opened its doors in 1997 on the campus of Golden Gate University in downtown San Francisco. As the first Charter high school in San Francisco and the first start-up Charter high school in the State of California, LHS has been a leader in school change in since its beginning, demonstrating that personalized learning in a diverse, small-school setting can transform the lives of youth.
Leadership has now graduated more than 500 students, with over 95% of graduates going on to college. Leadership has been commended by the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education and by an independent Consent Decree court monitor as being an exemplar in the District for preparing all students—regardless of ethnic or socio-economic background—for college.
LHS has also earned national acclaim in its work to close the achievement gap. In 2006, Stanford University’s School Redesign Network selected Leadership as one of five schools in the State of California to be studied as a model for policy development. Since 2004, the Coalition of Essential Schools has recognized LHS as a Mentor School in its Small Schools Project; through this project, LHS faculty and students travel all over the country coaching new small schools and facilitating professional development.
Leadership’s strong and well-developed academic program has earned LHS a six-year accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In spring 2007, San Francisco Unified School District endorsed the school’s program for a third term, renewing its Charter through 2012.