Mission
Environmental Charter Schools is comprised of four public charter schools serving grades 6-12 located in the South Bay and South LA communities of Lawndale, Inglewood and Gardena. Beyond serving 1,320 students, our goals are to transform public education from within. Alison Suffet Diaz, an attorney turned educator who taught for several years in a large comprehensive, traditional public high school, founded Environmental Charter Schools (ECS) in 2001. At the time, Alison observed far too many students falling through the cracks without a supportive community or lack of connection to school content. As many disengaged students who could have otherwise achieved a high degree of success dropped out, Alison researched factors associated with successful educational turnarounds. She concluded that when students were informed and empowered to make change in their own communities, it positively impacted their academic achievement, pursuit of higher education and the desire to further their impact in the world.