We are committed to excellence in education! We believe that it is up to us to prepare and equip every single one of our scholars to successfully attend and graduate from a four-year university.  We accomplish this in collaboration with parents.  For this mission to be achievable, many of our scholars begin the journey in PreK, when they are three years old, taking a strong first step in their education and quickly adapting to the demands of a high quality education.

 

We believe that by providing a well-structured academic environment, all scholars can learn at a high level.  This is reflected in the success experienced by our scholars, both those who transferred to HGA from traditional district schools and those who started with us in PreK.

 

We believe that in order for our scholars to succeed in school, college, and life, we must devote quality time to equip them with the academic knowledge and skills that they will need to conquer obstacles and achieve their goals.  This means that when our instruction is not mastered, we go back to the drawing board, we analyze what went wrong, we regroup with a plan, and then we target learning challenges again and again until all scholars are successful.  We also engage our parents to gain their support and let them know that their partnership is critical for the success of their children.

 

We believe we are all part of the HGA team.  This means that we are here for our scholars to fulfill our mission, willing to step up where we are needed, regardless of our titles and responsibilities.  Because of this selfless commitment, our scholars and parents have gained our trust, respect, and support.  

 

We respect and value all members of our staff and we recognize that each person makes a powerful contribution to the success of our schools.  This also means highlighting their exemplary work, recognizing individuals going beyond the call of duty, and thanking and motivating all staff with small tokens of appreciation.  This includes providing delicious meals during certain times of the year, academic bonuses, Christmas bonuses, birthday recognitions, etc.

 

We believe that our teachers are like none other, as they are committed to do whatever it takes to ensure the success of our scholars, without excuses.   This unselfish giving of time and effort is evident as they work with scholars during their planning period, after school, Saturdays, etc.  Additionally, their tremendous value as educators who care and equip is what graduating seniors attribute as the main reason that HGA had such a huge impact on their lives.

 

We believe that to establish a solid and long lasting relationship with our parents, we have to proactively take the necessary steps to engage them in the educational journey of their children.  We do this by conducting visits to the homes of every single one of our scholars, providing parent sessions, providing English classes, and by keeping them well informed.  Our parents are also strong advocates for a better education and their voices matter.

We believe that our scholars need the motivation and encouragement to succeed and be resilient.  This is why we intentionally practice positive framing and other ways to help them believe in themselves and in their immense potential to succeed.  We do it for them!
  
Our core values of high expectations, grit, and achievement also define who we are:

 

High Expectations -We are mission-driven, highly motivated, and maintain the highest expectations for our scholars, our colleagues, and ourselves.  We believe every single one of our scholars will learn and succeed no matter what the challenges they will face.  We also believe that our scholars deserve to go to college and that it is our calling and mission to make it happen.

 

Grit - We define grit as perseverance, determination, resilience, and passion for long-term goals, despite experiences with failure and adversity.  While ability is important, we believe that this "persistence of motive and effort” is crucial to a life of success. Individuals high in grit are able to maintain their determination and motivation in the midst of any storm.  Our passion and commitment towards the long-term objective is the overriding factor that provides the stamina required to "stay the course" amid challenges and set-backs.  We believe that grit is essential for our school to succeed and we will do what it takes to strengthen and empower our scholars in this area.  This effort must include our amazing parents and partnerships with our community.

 

Achievement - As a high performing charter school, we have many ambitions. We are driven to succeed on a global level, and we are determined to accomplish all of our goals regardless of the obstacles. We want to constantly encourage our dedicated and talented staff and scholars to develop their ambitions, to feed their passions, to grow in responsibility, to be dedicated to the highest quality, and to achieve more than they ever thought possible.  We also believe in recognizing and rewarding meaningful contributions and outstanding performance.  We are inspired because we believe in what we are doing and where we are going.  We don’t take “no” for an answer and we will succeed.