Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School

What Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School does

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School (SFACS) is a nonprofit public charter school authorized by the School District of Philadelphia, operating a single K-12 college preparatory campus at 2501 Kensington Ave in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in September 2009, the school was established through a coalition of Philadelphia Freedom Schools scholars, Junior Servant Leaders, and Servant Leadership Interns, and continues the legacy of the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School model. The school delivers African-centered pedagogy rooted in the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) and Maat virtues, integrating culturally responsive teaching with literacy, numeracy, social-emotional development, and college preparation, including HBCU college tours and an International Service Program.

The school runs on an integrated academic technology stack anchored by PowerSchool for student information and enrollment, Schoology as the learning management system, and Clever as a single sign-on portal, supplemented by a broad set of third-party adaptive learning platforms including Reading Eggs, IXL, Lexia Core5, Lexia PowerUp, Edgenuity, eSpark, Study Island, Epic, myPerspectives, Wonders, AscendMath, and Common Sense Digital Citizenship. Operations are supported by a 32-person staff under CEO Dr. Ayesha Imani, with Elisha Tigah as Director of Technology. The school is governed by a Board of Directors and complies with Title I, special education, ELL, and McKinney-Vento requirements.

SFACS is funded almost entirely through per-pupil allocations from the School District of Philadelphia, Title I federal grants, and ESSER funds, with supplemental philanthropic donations processed via PayPal. As a public charter school, it charges no tuition and conducts enrollment through an annual lottery. Distribution is direct-to-consumer at the single physical campus, with marketing conducted through Facebook, Twitter, two parent newsletters (Sankofa Bird and The NEST), community events, food distributions, and the Philadelphia Freedom Schools network. The school maintains minor partnerships with health service providers (Vision to Learn and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Dental) and community organizations, but its strategic position rests on its cultural-curriculum differentiation rather than a technology or commercial moat.

Name

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School

Legal name

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School

Website

https://sfacs.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School is a nonprofit K-12 public charter school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 2009, that delivers college-preparatory education using African-centered pedagogy and the Freedom School movement's cultural framework to Philadelphia students and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Charter School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools (EDAJACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter Montessori/Waldorf/Classical/Expeditionary (Pedagogical Models) (EDAJACAL)

Keywords

• K-12 charter education
• African-centered pedagogy
• College preparatory school
• Freedom School model
• Culturally responsive education

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Per-Pupil Government Funding: As a public charter school, SFACS receives per-pupil funding from the School District of Philadelphia based on enrollment. Additional funding comes from Title I federal grants and ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds.
2. Donations and Philanthropy: School accepts general donations, specific donations for causes (athletics, scholarships, Freedom Rides, HBCU College Tours, International Service Project), processed through PayPal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School provides tuition-free K-12 college preparatory education grounded in an African-centered, culturally responsive pedagogical framework derived from the Philadelphia Freedom Schools model. The core service combines literacy/numeracy instruction with character education rooted in the Nguzo Saba and Maat virtues, servant leadership training, HBCU college tours, and an International Service Program offering global service-learning experiences.

Product overview

Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School is a college-preparatory K-12 charter school that operates as a unified educational service offering, not a modular software platform. The school provides K-12 education services as its core product, utilizing African-centered and culturally responsive methodologies based on the Philadelphia Freedom Schools model. Students access learning through a centralized Student Academic Sites Portal integrated via Clever, which connects to various third-party educational platforms for curriculum delivery, assessment, and practice. Additional programs include the International Service Program for global learning experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-12 Education Services
• International Service Program

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Philadelphia Freedom SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009SFACS was founded based on the Philadelphia Freedom Schools model. The school emerged from the freedom school movement coalition that formed in 2006, with scholars, JSLs, and SLIs advocating for a charter school based on the PFS model. The movement began in 1999 and continues as an independent network.
• Eagles Eye Mobile (Vision to Learn)minorOthersMobile vision screening service that partners with the school to provide vision exams and glasses to students on-site.
• Ronald McDonald Care Mobile DentalminorOthersMobile dental program that provides dental services to students at the school campus through Tower Health partnership.
• Children's Defense FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Black Community Crusade for Children and Children's Defense Fund originally developed the Freedom Schools model in 1993. SFACS continues the legacy and curriculum traditions established through this partnership.
• Peace Center Food Give AwayminorOthersCommunity food distribution program held at 4371 Waln St, Philadelphia, PA 19124. School serves as a venue/distribution point for community food assistance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mastery Charter Schools: Multi-campus Philadelphia public charter network serving K-12 students across the city. Direct competitor for the same School District of Philadelphia per-pupil funding pool and the same Philadelphia family lottery demographic as SFACS.
• KIPP Philadelphia Charter Schools: Regional affiliate of the national KIPP network operating multiple Philadelphia charter campuses focused on college-prep outcomes for underserved students. Comparable in mission (college prep for high-need communities), funding model, and Philadelphia authorizer relationship.
• Universal Companies / Universal Charter Schools: Philadelphia-based nonprofit operator of multiple charter schools serving K-12 students with a community-rooted mission. Directly comparable to SFACS in location, authorizer, funding mechanism, and student demographic.
• Memphis Street Academy Charter School @ J.P. Jones: Philadelphia single-site public charter school serving grades K-8 with a mission around culturally responsive, community-based education. Comparable to SFACS in scale (single campus), authorizer, and mission orientation.
• Global Leadership Academy Charter School: Philadelphia public charter school serving K-8 with a mission-driven, community-centered approach. Comparable to SFACS in operating footprint, urban Philadelphia context, and reliance on School District of Philadelphia per-pupil funding.
• Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School: Philadelphia single-sex college-prep public charter serving grades 6-12. Comparable to SFACS in mission (college-prep for underserved Philadelphia students), funding model, and authorizer relationship.
• First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School: Philadelphia-area K-12 public charter school authorized under the Pennsylvania Charter School Law. Directly comparable to SFACS in funding mechanism, grade span, and Philadelphia regional context.
• Esperanza Cyber Charter School: Pennsylvania statewide cyber charter school operated by Esperanza, also running Esperanza College Prep. Comparable to SFACS in operating model (public charter, Pennsylvania-licensed, mission-focused on Hispanic/underserved students) and per-pupil funding mechanics.
• Community Academy of Philadelphia Charter School: Philadelphia K-12 public charter school serving a multicultural student body. Comparable to SFACS in size, single-campus operating model, urban Philadelphia context, and reliance on per-pupil allocations from the School District of Philadelphia.

Broad incumbents

• ASPIRA Charter Schools (Pennsylvania): Pennsylvania ASPIRA network operates charter schools serving Latino and other underserved students with cultural-responsive pedagogy. Comparable to SFACS in mission (culturally specific charter education for minority communities) and Philadelphia-area footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Sankofa_Parents
• Facebookfacebook.com/sankofaparents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sankofa-freedom-academy-charter-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School