Lighthouse Public Schools is a place for students to reach their maximum potential in a safe, rewarding environment. Lighthouse Public Schools is accepting applications for enrollment for students in grades PK3–12. We have put together a guide to help you learn more about Lighthouse Public Schools and take steps to enroll your children for the current school year or the upcoming 2024–25 school year.
About Lighthouse Public Schools
Lighthouse Public Schools opened in 2003 as a project of the Imagine Educational Foundation under the name Lighthouse Charter School. In recent years, the board and leadership of Lighthouse Public Schools have refined the mission and vision. They define their mission as developing academically, socially, emotionally, and physically skilled students capable of functioning successfully in a changing world. They promise to accomplish this by providing an educationally challenging curriculum in a proper and conducive learning environment. They envision that every student who comes to the school will be educated to his or her maximum potential, will have a positive self-image reflected in good citizenship, and will have a positive view of the future. They want to do this in a safe, rewarding environment.
Superintendent Donald Mills joined Lighthouse Public Schools in 2019. In a recent interview, he spoke about wanting to create an environment for students that is, “safe, secure, and warm.” He described the leadership team as “committed”; they have high expectations of themselves, and that attitude spills into the students, too.
Lighthouse Public Schools is a place where students who may have struggled in a different environment (whether because of class sizes or other reasons) can come and be successful. The typical class size at Lighthouse is 13–14 students for each teacher. Mills described the campus as having a family feeling. Some students come from non-traditional family structures—being raised by grandparents, or living in foster care—but they can come to school and find a safe, secure, and welcoming place.
In recent years, Lighthouse Public Schools expanded to offer grades 9–12. To support these students, Lighthouse Public Schools has a partnership with McMurray University to offer dual credit courses to every high school student. The dual credit program is completely free for the students and families who participate. Enrollment in dual credit courses can begin in 9th grade. All middle school students also have access to high school courses beginning in 7th and 8th grades; this creates opportunities for them to take more dual credit courses with McMurray University as high school students. The goal is to make access to college more equitable. In 2023–24, the school is forging a new partnership with Alamo Colleges for more workforce-based courses such as cosmetology, culinary arts, and auto mechanics.
The school has added a number of electives, student-based groups, and sports. Students can play sports such as basketball, volleyball, flag football, and soccer, with the potential addition of baseball. For clubs, students can participate in cheerleading, art, newspaper, yearbook, and student council; they are hoping to add choir in 2024.
The handbook sets out goals for student achievement and creating a safe environment.
Lighthouse Public Schools in San Antonio
The Lighthouse Public Schools serves students in grades PK3–12 at their campus located at 8138 Westshire Dr., San Antonio, TX 78227 (map). The main phone number is 210-236-7693. Here is the 2023–24 calendar.
The goal is to support all students regardless of their personal academic goals. Whether a student wants to go to college, enter the workforce, or join the military, the school has an attitude of “We can and we will.” The mindset is to embrace the fundamentals. With that context in mind, readers can consider the school’s academic ratings. On the district’s most recent report card, they were marked as not rated. For the campus-level report cards, the school report card for grades PK–1 has no rating (those grades don’t take standardized tests), the school report card for grades 2–8 and the school report card for grades 9–11 are marked as not rated. Academic ratings are part of the picture, but they don’t tell the whole story. Lighthouse Public Schools focuses on building skills that make for life-long learners, including perseverance, building positive relationships, accessing resources, and teamwork. Building these skills ensure that even though a student may not know everything at a specific moment, with time and effort, everyone can achieve success.
Download the free San Antonio Charter Schools app for an interactive map that includes the Lighthouse Public Schools campus and many more. You can also find campus information about Lighthouse Public Schools (and many other schools of choice) in our Guide to Charter Schools in San Antonio.
Enroll at Lighthouse Public Schools
Families can apply online to enroll their children in grades PK3–12 at Lighthouse Public Schools. Enrollment for the current school year is ongoing, and they are accepting applications for the 2024–25 school year.
Want to see the campus in person? Schedule a tour online. Families can also fill out an inquiry form on the website and a staff member will reach out. Download the Lighthouse Public Schools Mobile App and stay engaged with all the exciting activities and events happening at LPS.
Follow Lighthouse Public Schools on social media on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube.
In addition, please join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook to post questions and search previous discussions about Lighthouse Public Schools.
Facts About Lighthouse Public Schools
Currently, the overall school colors are maroon and gray, and the mascot is the Seahawks. During the 2024–25 school year, each campus will create their own school colors and mascots while maintaining their heritage of maroon as a foundational color. In keeping with the avian theme, there is a space on campus called the Nest where students can find emotional support. This support also supports the academic program of the school with embedded SEL lessons to provide character education, self-esteem, and support for one another.
The school focuses on 3 R’s: Respect education, Respect everyone, and Respect environment. They implement this through the lens of restorative practices as part of the school culture. The school leaders work to create a safe and secure atmosphere where students are encouraged to share information freely.
The pre-K program at Lighthouse Public Schools focuses on curiosity and exploration. Along with this, students focus on oral language literacy by engaging with robust read-alouds twice daily to hear and engage with rich and expressive language. Visit the “Day in the Life” page to learn more about the focus, curriculum, assessment systems, and amount of time spent in each area for pre-K, as well as elementary (K–5), middle school (6–8), and high school (9–12).
Learn more about Lighthouse Public Schools from these interviews with students, parents, and faculty.
Charter Moms Chats
Watch Danielle Navarro, Principal of Lighthouse Public Schools, and James Mounts, Instructional Officer at Lighthouse Public Schools, speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on February 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.
Danielle Navarro is the Principal at Lighthouse Public Schools. She has been at Lighthouse since 2017, starting with teaching kindergarten and then moved into the Reading Interventionist & 504 Coordinator role. Since then, she has become a National Board Certified teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy. She is currently working on becoming a Dyslexia Therapist as well as obtaining her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Language-Based Learning Disorders. It is her belief that ALL students have the capability to learn if we can show equal compassion to the heart and mind of the student. She has two children that attend Lighthouse and she is excited to help cultivate a school in which our children can learn and grow for an enlightening future.
James Mounts is the Instructional Officer at Lighthouse Public Schools and joined Lighthouse Public Schools in July 2023. He has been in education for over ten years and served in multiple capacities as a classroom teacher, coach, and administrator at the elementary and middle school levels. He has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Texas Tech University. Upon graduating, he went through an alternative certification program to pursue his real passion of teaching. He continues his pursuit of education and will graduate this semester with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Read More About Lighthouse Public Schools
- “Charter Moms Chats — Lighthouse Public Schools Enrollment, With Erica Martinez And Donald Mills,” YouTube, December 7, 2021
- “Team Up for Success: Tools and Resources for Building Stronger Parent Teacher Relationships,” San Antonio Charter Moms, October 7, 2021
- “Summer Science Madness—4 Home Science Experiments,” Danielle Navarro, Qué Means What, June 30, 2021
- “Summer Slide, COVID Slide, and the Glitter Slide,” Erica Martinez, San Antonio Charter Moms, June 3, 2021
- “Family Self-Care Plan,” Erica Martinez, San Antonio Charter Moms, March 19, 2021
- “UTSA study: San Antonio-area charters see more student movement from school to school,” Krista Torralva, San Antonio Charter Moms, February 8, 2021
- “Charter Moms Chats — Lighthouse Public Schools, With Donald Mills,” YouTube, December 8, 2020
