Our schools’ history stretches back to our founder, former Sacramento Mayor, Kevin Johnson. In 1989, Oak Park native and NBA All-Star Johnson opened a portable classroom in Sacramento High School as an after school program called St. HOPE Academy. Since then, St. HOPE has dramatically improved Oak Park through its holistic community development approach, creating 20 businesses and over 300 jobs. It also opened 40 Acres Art and Cultural Center, a 25,000-square-foot mixed-use facility located in the heart of Oak Park. Housing a cafe, bookstore, barbershop, art gallery and 200-seat theater, the complex won distinction from the California Redevelopment Agency with the “Award of Excellence in Mixed-Use Development” in 2004.

In 2003, St. HOPE Public Schools was launched. We opened our doors with a clear vision: to create one of the finest urban pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public school systems in America. Today our schools include PS7 Elementary, PS7 Middle, Oak Park Prep, and Sacramento Charter High School. Our scholars attend longer school days, and face demanding academic standards.