About ICEF Public Schools
ICEF Public Schools is a nonprofit charter school management organization serving communities in the South Los Angeles area. We operate high-quality, tuition-free, public charter elementary, middle and high schools. Our goal is to develop and manage charter schools that prepare minority students to attend and compete academically at the top colleges and universities in the nation.

Our mission is to transform South Los Angeles into a stable, economically vibrant community by providing first-rate educational opportunities and by annually graduating 2,000 high school students. 

Our Founder

ICEF Public Schools was founded in 1994 by Michael Piscal, then an English teacher at the prestigious independent Harvard-Westlake School.  With a vision of bringing such high-quality educational opportunities to the community of South Los Angeles, Piscal left Harvard-Westlake to found what was then called the Inner City Education Foundation.  

The organization originally operated summer camps and after school programs.  In 1999, Piscal collaborated with the local community to charter ICEF's first school, View Park Preparatory Elementary School, in order to fill the need for high-quality, college-preparatory public school options in the area.  Under Piscal, ICEF grew from one to 15 charter schools, serving nearly 4,500 students by 2010.  Piscal was able to provide the high-quality education he had envisioned, as his elementary and middle schools soon achieved average API scores higher than LAUSD.  Piscal also achieved a 100% college acceptance rate in all five graduating classes during his tenure.


Piscal received the Good Morning America Hero Award in December 2002, "Breakfast in Bed" from chef Emeril Lagasse, and the Facing History Facing Ourselves "Power of One Award" in February 2003.  He has been featured in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal.  He earned the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Award in 1992, and served on the Oxford Teacher's Seminar at Oxford University in 1993.

Today, ICEF Public Schools still operates by our founder's mission: To prepare all students to attend and compete at the top 100 colleges and universities in the nation. 



ICEF Public Schools Milestones

1994 ICEF Public Schools was founded by Michael Piscal. The organization was originally named the Inner City Education Foundation.
1996 ICEF Public Schools opened and operated the View Park Prep Summer Camp and After School Programs.
1999 Parents, teachers and community members concerned about the lack of high-quality, college-preparatory public school options in their neighborhood, collaborated with Michael Piscal and chartered ICEF's first school, the View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Elementary School serving approximately 240 students. Michael Piscal served as principal for the first three years.
2001 View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Middle School opened.
2003 View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School opened.
2005 With the help of Pacific Charter School Development, ICEF Public Schools built a permanent campus for the View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Middle and High School at Crenshaw and Slauson Boulevards on a 2-acre lot that had been vacant and blighted for over 15 years.
2006 Building upon the successful View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter School model, ICEF Public Schools opened its second family of schools, the Frederick Douglass Academy Charter Middle and High School.
2007

ICEF Public Schools collaborated with the renowned and respected Challengers Boys and Girls Club and expanded yet again by opening the Lou Dantzler Charter Middle School and Lou Dantzler Charter High School.

ICEF Public Schools also opened the Thurgood Marshall Middle School and Thurgood Marshall High School.

ICEF graduated its first senior class from the View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School sending 100% of the graduates to college. Actor Don Cheadle gave the keynote address.

2008

2009






2010		 ICEF Public Schools opened ICEF Visa Elementary and Middle Academy, Frederick Douglass Elementary and Lou Dantzler Elementary.

ICEF Public Schools expanded to serve children in Inglewood Unified School District by opening ICEF Inglewood Elementary and Middle Academy. 

ICEF graduated the first class from Frederick Douglass High School.  100% of graduates enrolled in college.  The VPPHS and FDHS graduating classes received over $5.5 million in scholarships for college.

ICEF currently operates 14 high performing charter schools serving over 4,500 students.  ICEF has seen record growth in student achievement and college preparation.