St. HOPE Leadership Academy Charter School (SHLA) is a college-preparatory public charter school in New York City. The school opened in the fall of 2008 with grades 5 through 7, and currently serves students in grades 5 through 8. SHLA provides a rigorous, standards-based college preparatory curriculum, intensive interventions for students who are performing below grade level, a defined character development program, and extensive leadership development and community service opportunities in an ordered, structured and disciplined learning environment. SHLA features an extended school day and school year.

Core Values...we are HARLEM!!!

At St. HOPE Leadership Academy, we believe that character (the ability to work hard, focus, and do the right thing) is a precursor to academic achievement. As such, the School will orient and reinforce the mantra “We are HARLEM.” We believe it is important to instill a sense of pride in the students for the community in which they live. Equally important is to create common language that all members of the community can know, understand, and communicate with respect to the culture that is established at the school. This allows for a shared understanding of what it means to be a St. HOPE Leadership Academy student. The core values of St. HOPE Leadership Academy are:

Honor.
Honor encompasses respect and integrity. At St. HOPE Leadership Academy, we honor each other, our school, our families, our community, and ourselves. Faculty will model honor by treating students, each other, and parents with respect. Students will honor each other by treating all members of the St. HOPE Leadership Academy team and family with respect and courtesy. In addition to honoring each other, through class work, field lessons, and activities, students will learn the importance of honoring their families and their cultures. Students will also learn to honor themselves. By doing so, they will be true to themselves and maintain integrity even in trying situations. Furthermore, students will take care of their health and appearance and always do their best in every situation.

Absolute Determination.
In light of the daunting challenges that some St. HOPE Leadership Academy students may face in their lives, it is very important that they remain determined and persevere through even the most trying situations. Each semester, students will set goals for themselves for which they will be held accountable.�Together with their teachers, students will work toward these goals; students will learn that hurdles and difficulties that may arise should not sway them. When a student is struggling, s/he will constantly be reminded by faculty and peers of the importance of absolute determination. St. HOPE Leadership Academy will develop a culture where students and faculty believe in each other and therefore encourage each other to persevere to meet their goals.

Responsibility.
Service and taking ownership for making positive change every single day is critical at St. HOPE Leadership Academy. Students will take responsibility for their own learning, their actions, and for helping teammates to ensure that everyone learns and succeeds. All students will work hard and take responsibility for maximizing their class time by actively participating in class, thinking critically, and asking and answering questions. St. HOPE Leadership Academy will establish a culture where students take responsibility for helping their struggling peers.�If a child is being disciplined, scholars will learn how to take responsibility for helping out their teammate in need. Students will learn the importance of making small and large positive changes everyday, such as saying thank you to someone who helps them. All students will participate in community service learning projects. Giving back to the community and helping those in need will be an important value instilled in students at the school, but one that, as stated in the mission, students will be expected to carry out throughout their lives.

Leadership.
Sustainable leadership is a resource that must continue to be developed. Developing leadership that can be sustained long-term is central to the success of St. HOPE Leadership Academy, and the community that it serves. St. HOPE Leadership Academy has developed a program that educates, trains and empowers individuals of all ages to become civic leaders through community service. The goal is for students to understand the power that they have to transform and improve their communities for the better. All students at St. HOPE Leadership Academy have an annual 40 hour community service requirement that they must satisfy. Working with their advisory teachers, St. HOPE Leadership Academy students will plan, execute, and reflect upon various community service projects in their community. The advisors will teach lessons aimed at exploring the importance of community service, lead students in the process of researching and selecting areas of need, and then planning and executing the community service projects.

Excellence.
The students, teachers and parents of SHLA will be dedicated to achieving excellence in everything we do in both our personal and school lives. Our goal as a community will be to make excellence a habit. Students will demonstrate excellence by completing their homework everyday; working hard and working smart to achieve high quality work, and maintaining the value of excellence in the community they build on campus by focusing on supportive and respectful behavior. Teachers will demonstrate excellence day in and day out by delivering thoughtful, well-structured instruction that fosters learning opportunities that develop students’ higher order thinking skills and teach toward different learning modalities. Teachers will also be constantly reflecting on the effectiveness of their teaching practices. Finally, parents will achieve excellence by supporting their child by consistently demonstrating their commitment to their child’s education and holding their child accountable for disciplined work and behavior at home.

Mission Driven.
St. HOPE Leadership Academy students will be required to demonstrate by their actions and words their commitment to the School’s mission – to be prepared to succeed in a four-year university and to contribute positively to their communities. Students will be asked on a daily basis if their current behavior, attitude, and work habits are aligned to the mission. Advisory teachers will spend a significant part of the first few months of school going over the mission and ensuring that students are able to articulate the different aspects of it. Various activities in the advisory curriculum will help reinforce student’s understanding of the importance of the various components of the School’s mission. Equally important, St. HOPE Leadership Academy will strive to instill in its students the ability to set goals for themselves and to create plans to achieve them. The goal is for students to be able to set high goals in various aspects of their lives and to work hard to achieve those goals. Students will be taught how to set goals, how to create plans to achieve them, and how to assess whether or not they have indeed been achieved. At St. HOPE Leadership Academy, we believe that this is a life skill that will prepare our students to succeed in school, in university, and in their lives.