Lighthouse Community Charter School
Community SubscriberABOUT LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Lighthouse operates two high-performing, K-12 schools in Oakland: our flagship campus, Lighthouse (at 444 Hegenberger Road), and our brand new campus, Lodestar (to open in East Oakland). Our schools are public and free.
Our mission is to prepare a diverse, K-12th grade student population for college and the career of their choice by equipping each student with the skills, knowledge, and tools to become a self-motivated, competent, lifelong learner. We achieve this mission with rigorous academics, character development, and strong relationships with students and families.
WHO IS LIGHTHOUSE FOR? Lighthouse is for all students. Our program successfully serves all students, especially students most traditionally underserved, including students with disabilities and language learners. Our Lighthouse campus is enrolling for grades K-12. Our new Lodestar campus is enrolling students in grades K, 1, 2, and 6.
HOW DO I APPLY? Applications are all online. Applications can be submitted online for the second enrollment period starting February 8th 2016 at https://lighthousecharter.org/about/enrollment/. The deadline for completed applications is April 29th, 2016 at 4pm. The lottery for the second enrollment period is on Wednesday, May 11 at 5:30pm. You do not have to be present at the lottery to receive a seat or a waitlist number.
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.Archived Q&A and Reviews
Sept 2010
Re: How hard is it to get into a charter school?
Charter schools accept students through a lottery. I believe the only exception to that in Oakland is the Oakland School for the Arts, where students must audition. Some schools like Lighthouse Community Charter are K-12, so students coming from the middle school are given preference. I would highly recommend Lighthouse. It's a great school and great community. If your children got in during elementary they'd be set all the way through!
March 2010
Re: Affordable Neighborhoods in Oakland
The trick is not so much affording a decent neighborhood, but that neighborhood having good schools. The good news, in my opinion, is that Oakland has a few really great charter schools (and in case you are unfamiliar with these, they are free). Millsmont is our neighborhood - a little known gem, on the wooded side of Mills College near the top of Seminary, by hwy 13 and 580. This area is affordable and very attractive.
My son's charter school is quite close by - about 12 minutes away by car (on the streets - no freeway driving). This is K-12, Lighthouse Community Charter School. They've just had their charter renewed - and they have a beautiful new facility at 444 hegenberger, next to the Marriot. I can't praise the school enough - a truly wonderful education - my sons has been there for nearly 4 years. S
April 2007
Re: School for 11 year old who speaks Mayan & Spanish & no English
Please let your friends know about Lighthouse Community Charter School in downtown Oakland as a possibility for their 11 year old, whether for now or next year. There may not be anyone there who speaks her home language (tho it's possible that there is, I just don't know), but many of the young people and/or their families have experienced coming to the US and learning english as a second or third language. Our 13 year old started there midyear (february) in 6th grade a year and a half ago and the school culture (compassion, respect, responsibility) made the transition much better than I'd thought it might go. An LCCS parent
Hi- You might check with Oakland Unified School District regarding middle schools where there is primarily instruction in Spanish with English Language Development as a large part of the program. I'm almost positive they should have something like this for situations just like this one. Best of luck to her in finding the right school! Laura
Rebecca, I would recommend Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland - K-12 for the family coming from the Mayan village. Their purpose is to focus on the underserved in the Fruitvale district. The majority are Spanish speaking students and families. Most teachers are bilingual. (I'm not sure how to address the need to learn English though. I'm trying to find such a program for my 15 year old nephew. It seems like a lot of the programs are for adults.) Anyway, Lighthouse might be the place for this family and they may still have room in her grade. Celia
March 2006
I am wondering if any parents out there have feedback or would like to chat offline about their experiences at LCCS. My daughter is due to start kindergarten there this fall and I would love to hear from you. Thank you!
Hi, I'm not sure if this reply will help you much because we don't yet attend Lighthouse either-- our daughter is first on the kindergarten waitlist, and we also got in to East Bay Conservation Corps Charter School, so we're in the lucky position of choosing between two great schools.
On our tours of Lighthouse, we were very impressed by the philosophy and academic programs. They do project-based learning through a highly-praised program called Expeditionary Learning (see their website at http://www.elob.org/). They do looping (kids stay with the same teacher for two grades), which means that teachers really know their students well. They also have a home language program which allows students to spend a chunk of time each day gaining/maintaining language and literacy skills in their home language (English enrichment or Spanish classes for English-only students). These are all things I remember from the tours and website, so I hope I'm not getting any facts wrong.
We have two concerns about Lighthouse: 1) their after-school program is very limited and only open to students needing enrichment, which will be a logistical problem for us, and 2) more importantly, they are planning to move before the 2007- 2008 school year, and I have no idea what part of Oakland they'll end up in. As a north Oakland resident, I really do not want to get on the freeway each day to take my daughter to school. Hopefully they will stay downtown, but I don't think anyone knows at this point.
I, too, am interested in hearing from current parents at Lighthouse, as well as meeting incoming kindergarten parents. Feel free to contact me! Tawnya
Oct 2005
Looking for people's experiences with this fairly new charter school. Any info. would be of interest. lisa
A former colleague of mine is teaching at Lighthouse, and she is one of the most dynamic teachers I have ever known. She reports that although they are going through some growing pains, in general the people at Lighthouse are doing everything right. At least in the middle school, the teachers ''loop'' with their students (stay with them for more than one year), and long-term relationships are also developed through the 13-1, multi-year Advisory program. Lighthouse is an ''expeditionary learning,'' school, meaning much of the curriculum is tied to wholistic projects. For example, 3rd graders would learn about math, mapping, and interviewing skills by working as a class to make a map of their neighborhood. Sounds like the kind of place I'd like my kid to be! alanya
My 6th grader goes to a new charter school (free/public) in downtown Oakland called Lighthouse Community Charter School. It is located on Telegraph near 19th St. Just give it a drive-by and look in the windows (yes, a school in Oakland with windows you can actually look in and see what is going on!)
The school's mission is college preparation for all children. Most of the kids currently at the school are from east Oakland, and not from wealthy backgrounds, but all the kids and parents are super motivated.
Things you may like or dislike about Lighthouse:
* location downtown is a seedy neighborhood but 1/2 block to BART and really accessible by bus
* school only takes new Kindergarten and 6th graders each year, but will eventually fill up to K-12 school
* very small in size, you get to know the staff really well, and lot of the parents & kids
* school day is 8:30am-5:30pm
* if you are a lazy parent or have a lazy kid, this is not the school for you.
* all kids learn Spanish at their own language level (whether beginner or fluent Spanish speaker)
One more thing about Lighthouse, the school has very high expectations about behavior and integrity from all kids and parents. It is a really beautiful sight to walk into the school and see sparkling bright walls with not a speck of graffiti, and kids work proudly displayed everywhere on the wall. Kids are in school green polo shirts and t-shirts and look and act very respectful. I wish all the public schools in Oakland looked the picture of order and learning that this school does.
Best Regards! Tiffany
January 2003
I've seen many inquiries about charter schools lately. I am director of the Lighthouse Community Charter School located in downtown Oakland. We are in our first year of operation this year and next year will serve students in grades K/1 and 6/7. Eventually, our school will serve K - 12. Our mission is to prepare students for college or a career of their choice by holding each child to high expectations for student achievement, getting to know each student and family well, serving the whole child, and ensuring that teachers are constant learners. Our student population is very diverse - ethnically, socio-economically, and linguistically. Students learn through expeditionary learning which allows them to dive deeply into a subject area over a long period of time (i.e. Lake Merritt water quality, ''My Family,'' etc.) For the 2003 - 2004 school year, we are enrolling Kindergarten and 6th grade. Interested parents must attend an enrollment meeting. Call 510-271-8801 for more information. Check out our website at www.lighthousecharter.org Jenna
No responses received.