Aspire was founded in 1998 to provide a College for Certain education to underserved California students. From the first school in Stockton to the 34th school in Oakland, Aspire has grown to serve over 12,000 students in six cities across the state. In the last three years, 100% of Aspire graduates secured admission to a four-year college or university.

Since its founding, Aspire has been on the cutting-edge of education reform. In 1997, President Clinton visited Aspire founder Don Shalvey's San Carlos school to announce federal support of charter schools. That same year, Shalvey and Netflix founder Reed Hastings banded together to promote education reform in the state. Together, they successfully lobbied the California legislature to lift the "charter cap" limiting the number of charters in the state. In the last thirteen years, Aspire has built on that history of reform to become a national education leader.

Beginning in 2013, Aspire will mark a major milestone through expansion to Memphis.

Aspire's Growth