21 years ago, a small group of individuals stepped up during a time of need and made the difficult, unpopular, and critical decision to convert Gompers into an independent public charter school at the insistence of our parents and community.

Our parents wanted a better neighborhood school for their children. The dream was to create a school for students and parents that:

1. Ensured a college-prep pathway
2. Provided a longer school day and year
3. Engaged parents
4. Selected and kept only the best staff

This was a monumental undertaking that took grit, perseverance and an unwavering commitment from our founders and those supporting them. The demands were, and continue to be, enormous for our community to have a school that is designed differently enough to meet the diverse needs of our incredible students who are capable of greatness!

In 2004, when the charter workgroup committee, including several founders who remain at GPA today, began dreaming big for the students of our community, it was clear that we must focus first on engaging our parents and community members. This is their school.

The journey since our charter was approved on March 1, 2005, has been exciting, challenging, thrilling and complex – to say the least. It is no simple feat to take a failing school and turn it around to serve the diverse needs of its students, staff, parents and community members. In fact, it is a tremendous feat. It is also a feat that never ends because our students deserve the best from us every day, every week, every month and every year. We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go.

In observance of GPA Founders Day, there will be no school on Monday, Mar. 2, 2026, as March 1st falls on the weekend. Classes will resume on Tuesday, Mar. 3 (A-Day).