Synergy’s Mission is to eliminate the achievement gap that has persisted for generations for educationally disadvantaged students.

Currently, Synergy is realizing its mission by operating three high-quality public charter schools, Synergy Charter Academy, Synergy Kinetic Academy, and Synergy Quantum Academy, in South Los Angeles. Synergy currently serves underrepresented low-income minority students in South Los Angeles. Synergy purposely targeted one of the most over-crowded and lowest-performing communities in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) based on state standardized test scores. The majority of the neighborhood schools are performing among the bottom 20% statewide. Synergy’s students are 85% Hispanic, 14% African American, 1% Other, approximately 40% English Learners, and over 85-90% of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Synergy Charter Academy is an elementary school that has been the highest-performing full K-5 school in South Los Angeles for the past four years, and its Hispanic and African American students are performing among the top 10% of schools statewide. Synergy Kinetic Academy is a new middle school that opened September 2008 with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Synergy opened Synergy Quantum Academy, a STEM-focused high school Fall 2011.

Synergy's long-term goal is to strategically and directly impact the American public education system by creating a professional development campus program to train educators across the country with their innovative, home-grown intervention strategies that have proven to get results quickly among historically low-performing communities.

LASVP is or will be assisting Synergy with financial managment, human resources, strategic planning, fund development and board development.

Contact:
Meg Palisoc
323.459.5463
www.WeAreSynergy.org
P.O. Box 78638
Los Angeles, CA 90016

About our grant:
Initial grant date: January 2010 - June 2011
Recent grant amount: $10,000
Cumulative grant: $45,500
LASVP Lead Partners: Candy Deemer, Richard Landers