Applications are OPEN for the 2025-26 school year!
Apply
Space still available for the 2024-25 school year.
Not ready to apply?
Connect with a KIPP Family Ambassador to learn more.
Who We Are
KIPP Esperanza (grades 9-12) is a college-prep public charter high school located in East Palo Alto. KIPP has a long and proven track record of successful high schools in the Bay Area, with established elementary and middle schools in Menlo Park (KIPP Valiant) and Redwood City (KIPP Excelencia.) KIPP Esperanza is the next step in helping students continue their journey from kindergarten through life. KIPP Esperanza
KIPP has a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read more about our commitment to the work here.
Values
Identity | Community | Growth | Love | Honor
Take a virtual tour of our campus!
English
¡Haz un recorrido virtual por nuestro campus!
Spanish
Our Mission
At KIPP Esperanza we ensure that all of our students are given the options and opportunities that they deserve. Our school has been designed to serve the needs of all our students and families. We offer:
- Rigorous classes coupled with academic supports such as tutoring from highly trained and effective teachers.
- Socio-emotional learning and mental health counseling so that students continue building healthy social skills and relationships.
- College counseling for both families and students throughout high school and once in college to ensure that students not only enroll in college but to also graduate.
KIPP Esperanza students will have the skills and confidence needed to tackle whatever they choose to pursue after high school — in college or career.
College Preparatory Academics
Our top-ranked KIPP high schools are known for excellent teachers and strong academic supports that prepare students for college, career, and beyond. All students have access to challenging coursework and best-in-class college counseling.
Our unique KIPP Forward model supports students throughout high school as they choose their path after graduation. Students have access to structured support focused on college readiness and career exploration from day one. Services include college visits, 1:1 college advising, career exploration, and financial aid navigation.
KIPP alumni are 70% more likely to matriculate to college and are three times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than their peers who do not attend KIPP.
Mental Health & Wellness
KIPP Northern California aims to provide high-quality, client-centered, and culturally responsive mental health services designed to support students with varying levels of need. All students should have access to quality mental health services and as such, all services are free to students and provided regardless of insurance in order to reduce barriers to mental health care, meet students where they are at, and challenge mental health stigma. Learn more about our Mental Health and Wellness Program.
Special Education at KIPP
All students are welcome! We recognize the unique needs of each student and design high quality and specialized programs that enable each student to fully participate in their school community and the world at large. Special education services are available at all KIPP schools. Learn more about the Special Education Program.
Extracurricular Activities
We want our KIPP high schoolers to explore their interests and passions both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to core classes, our wide-range of electives and extracurricular activities give KIPPsters a well-rounded and engaging high school experience.
Clubs:
- Art
- Gaming
- Cooking
- Music Production
- Basketball/Weight Training
- Board & Card Games
- Yearbook/Photography
- Spanish
Sports:
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Cross Country
- Track & Field
Electives:
- Art
- Spanish
- Physical Conditioning
- Journalism
AP Courses:
- Drawing
- World History
- US History
- English Language
- Calculus
- English Literature
Enrollment Information
Applications for the 2025-26 school year are open for grades 9-12. You can submit your online application here or visit the school to submit an application.
Only applications that are received by the open enrollment deadline will be considered in the lottery. Applications received after the open enrollment deadline will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis. Lottery decisions will be sent to families via text and email.
To submit an application directly online or inquire about your status on the waitlist, please log in to your SchoolMint account at kippnorcal.schoolmint.net/.
How to apply
Watch our virtual information session (English) by clicking HERE
Cómo aplicar
Vea nuestra sesión informativa virtual (español) haciendo clic AQUI
*Click HERE to see accompanying slides for our virtual information session | Haga clic AQUÍ para ver la presentación que acompaña nuestra sesión informativa virtual
What Makes KIPP Different?
With a focus on character and academics, our free public charter schools prepare students for success in college and opportunity in life.
Sense of Belonging
KIPP provides a positive, supportive, and anti-racist learning environment where all students are known, respected, and empowered.
- 100% of our schools prioritize social-emotional learning through a Multi-Tiered System of Supports; 100% of our schools have mental health counselors, which is available to all students irrespective of insurance status
Academic Excellence
KIPP fosters a culture of academic excellence and intellectual curiosity through individualized instruction that meets the learning needs of every student.
- KIPP Northern California high schools are ranked in the top 10% of public high schools in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report
- KIPP students gain significantly more learning— equivalent to 80 additional days in math and 70 additional days in reading compared to their peers in non-KIPP schools. *According to a Stanford University study
- 59% of KIPP students meet or exceed California State academic standards for English Language Arts (compared to 50% across the state)
- 47% of KIPP students meet or exceed California State academic standards for Math (compared to 39% across the state) *2021 results
- Award winning schools, for example: 11 California Distinguished School Awards, 2 National Blue Ribbon Awards, among others
Family & Community Partnerships
KIPP partners with families and local organizations in their communities to support healthy development for children.
- KIPP partners with community organizations including: El Concilio California, YMCA, Community Partnerships for Families of San Joaquin, Housing Authority of San Joaquin, Boys & Girls Club, College Track, Bayview Hunters’ Point Clinic, among many others
Developing Leaders of Color
KIPP creates a sense of belonging and fortifies the positive racial identity of emerging leaders of color at our schools.
- 71% of our executive team, 65% of our school principals, and 63% of our teachers identify as people of color
College and Career Guidance
KIPP works with high school students and 4,000 alumni each year on a path to college, career, and beyond.
- Over time, 94% of all KIPP Northern California high school students have matriculated to college and progressive pathways
- Our alumni graduate college at four times the rate of their peers
Becoming Anti-Racist
We embed anti-racism into the core of who we are and what we do.
- We seek to disrupt racial and socio-economic inequities in access and outcomes so that ALL of our students, families, and alumni thrive
- The pandemic has disproportionately affected the academic and socio-emotional progress of students like ours, especially Black students, students who qualify for specialized services, and multilingual learners
- To ensure we are designing for success at the margins, we are implementing a set of strategies to expand an equitable funding model for students who have an individualized education plan (IEP) and/or are multilingual learners, and schools with large populations of students in these groups