Freire Schools has more than 25 years of success with raising student achievement and preparing historically underserved students for college and professions. We believe all students can achieve and meet students where they are, providing a rigorous academic program and comprehensive supports that enable them to thrive. Every day, Freire Schools is making a lasting impact on Philadelphia’s and Wilmington’s youth.
- Freire Schools began in 1999 with just 100 students at Freire High School. Today, we serve 2,000 students across our four campuses in two cities.
- 2024-25 was the seventh year that Freire Schools had graduating classes at all three of our high schools, with 225 students graduating network-wide.
Prepared for College
- Across the network, 95% of our Class of 2025 graduates were accepted to college at 136 unique colleges/universities.
- Freire Schools is successful in connecting students to the financial resources they need to be able to attend and persist at the college of their choice. The Class of 2025 earned over $18.7 million in college scholarships and financial aid, an average of over $83,000 per graduate.
- On average, 73% of Freire Schools graduates seamlessly enroll in college the fall after high school graduation, compared to the national average of 69%1. Other students have enlisted in the armed services or entered the workforce directly.
- Our students succeed upon enrollment in college. On average, 83% of college-enrolled Freire High School graduates persist to their second year of college – compared to the national average of just 76%2.
- Our college graduation rate far exceeds the national average: Freire High School’s college completion rate within six years after high school graduation averages 37% over the past three years, compared to a national average of just 27% for low-income students from high minority, public non-charter schools3.
- On average, 88% of Freire High School students graduate high school in four years – at least ten percentage points higher than the School District of Philadelphia’s four-year cohort graduation rate.
- TECH Freire continues to show the incremental growth that is necessary for sustained impact, exceeding the School District of Philadelphia average for Literature proficiency in 2018-19 (the last year for which we have data due to COVID-19) and beating the statewide average for growth in Biology and Literature.
A Comprehensive Education
- Connecting kids to high-interest and academically enriching after-school and summer programs is a key part of our program. With support from the 21st Community Learning Center grant program and generous EITC support in Philadelphia, we are able to keep kids creating, dreaming, and growing during the hours when youth are most vulnerable.
- At the core of the Freire Schools mission is the belief that every student has the power to build the future. That is why Freire Schools is committed to ensuring that all students participate in engaging and meaningful professional prep programming as part of their educational experience. Freire Forward is a network-wide experiential learning initiative that helps students connect classroom learning to hands-on experiences and begin to establish a vision and framework for their future. Through classroom lessons, dual enrollment courses, career days, job exposure field trips, and now our Freire Experienceship Program, our students cultivate work readiness skills while forming valuable connections with a deep and diverse network of businesses and professionals.
- In 2025, 58 Freire students participated in our Experienceship program, interning at 20+ area businesses.
- All campuses provide Emotional Support programs that address social and emotional barriers to learning, by providing individual and family therapy at no cost to families. In an average year, approximately 25% of our students receive these critical mental health services.
Awards & Recognition
- In 2025, Freire High (ranked #18) and TECH Freire (ranked #26) were recognized by Philadelphia Magazine as top public high schools in Philly, standing out among 46 District and 29 charter schools.
- In 2023, The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University revealed that Freire Schools produces high performing charter schools whose academic growth in reading and math place us as the highest performing charter management organization (CMO) in PA and among the highest in the country. Our schools are what CREDO calls “gap-busting” charter schools for our ability to close the achievement gap.
- In 2022, following a longitudinal study on student outcomes commissioned by the Philadelphia School Partnership, Freire Middle School has been identified as one of 36 Philadelphia public and public charter (K-8) schools “Beating the Odds” in academic growth.
- Freire Middle School received Great Philly Schools’ 2020 High Growth Rating for demonstrating “impressive academic growth” over a three-year period in math and reading.
- Freire High School received U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools Bronze Medal in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
- TECH Freire was one of only five schools, out of 39 total applications, approved to open a new Philadelphia charter school in 2016.
- Freire Charter School was designated a Pennsylvania Distinguished Title 1 School in 2015.
- Freire Charter School was featured in Philadelphia Magazine’s 2014 article, “Four Philadelphia Schools that Work.”
- Freire Charter School was recognized by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale as “a charter school doing things right” following a clean performance audit in 2014.
- Freire Charter School received the U.S. Department of Education EPIC Silver Award for Student Achievement in 2011.
- In 2010, Freire Charter School became the first charter school in Pennsylvania to receive the National Title 1 Distinguished School award.