MESA Charter High School
MESA Charter High School is a nonprofit public charter high school operating two Brooklyn campuses, serving grades 9-12 with a STEM-focused, mastery-based curriculum, multiple college credit pathways, and workforce development programs. Revenue is primarily per-pupil government funding.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What MESA Charter High School does
MESA Charter High School (legal name: Math, Engineering, and Science Academy) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charter high school founded in August 2013 by Arthur Samuels and Pagee Cheung, operating two campuses in Brooklyn, New York: the original MESA Bushwick campus and MESA: South Brooklyn, which opened on August 18, 2025 with a founding class of 125 9th graders and a planned scale of 500 students. The school serves high school students in grades 9-12 with a STEM-focused, mastery-based curriculum, drawing applicants from 40+ feeder middle schools. MESA's primary revenue model is per-pupil government funding from New York State, supplemented by donations, with education delivered at no cost to families.
The school's core academic differentiators are a proprietary Standards-Based Grading system that allows students to reassess and replace failing grades, and a bi-weekly E-Scores effort tracking system measuring MESA Courage, Purpose, and Pride. The product surface also includes multiple college credit pathways (CLEP, AP, College Now, and a partnership with St. Francis College enabling up to a full year of college credits in high school) and two workforce development programs: the Alumni Lab and the Digital Marketing Career Lab. Supporting technology consists of standard EdTech infrastructure (PowerSchool for student information, SchoolMint for enrollment, ParentSquare for family communication), with no proprietary AI or ML systems. MESA reports 90 employees, a 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio, a 94% cumulative graduation rate, 50% of seniors graduating with at least 3 college credits, and 20-30% higher NYS Regents pass rates than district peers.
Governance is provided by a 15+ member Board of Trustees staffed with senior executives from Salesforce (Chair Arun Yang), Microsoft (Treasurer), JP Morgan Chase, Royal Bank of Canada, Pfizer, Con Edison, and CUNY. The school is led by Co-Founder and Executive Director Arthur Samuels, Superintendent Cassandra Franzese (joined 2014), and Principal Krystal Tibbals. Expansion is funded organically through per-pupil allocations tied to enrollment growth at each campus, with no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or external equity.
MESA Charter High School firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MESA Charter High School
- Legal name
- Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School
- Website
- https://mesacharter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- MESA Charter High School is a nonprofit public charter high school operating two Brooklyn campuses, serving grades 9-12 with a STEM-focused, mastery-based curriculum, multiple college credit pathways, and workforce development programs. Revenue is primarily per-pupil government funding.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MESA Charter High School industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Charter Secondary Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools (EDAJACAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)
Keywords
Where MESA Charter High School is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
MESA Charter High School business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Per-Pupil Government Funding: As a public charter school, MESA receives per-pupil funding from government sources based on enrollment. This is the primary revenue stream supporting school operations.
- Donations and Philanthropy: The school accepts donations through its website, providing additional funding from alumni, parents, and community supporters.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
MESA Charter High School product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MESA Charter High School is a public, nonprofit 501(c)(3) charter high school providing free, rigorous STEM-focused college preparatory education to grades 9-12 students across two Brooklyn campuses. Its core offering includes mastery-based Standards-Based Grading, college credit pathways (CLEP, AP, College Now, St. Francis College), experiential learning, and post-secondary workforce development through the Alumni Lab and Digital Marketing Career Lab, delivered with a 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Product overview
MESA Charter High School is a single unified educational institution offering charter high school programs at two campuses (MESA Bushwick and MESA South Brooklyn). The school provides a comprehensive STEM-focused education with a mastery-based Standards Based Grading system, college credit accumulation programs (CLEP, AP, College Now), and workforce development initiatives including the Alumni Lab and Digital Marketing Career Lab. The E-Scores system tracks student effort across behavioral and academic dimensions. The school was founded in 2013 and graduated its first class in 2017.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MESA: South Brooklyn: A replication of MESA's high performing high school in Bushwick, located in Southwest Brooklyn, opened August 2025.
- Alumni Lab
- Digital Marketing Career Lab
Products and services
- MESA Bushwick Original MESA charter high school campus in Bushwick, Brooklyn, offering rigorous STEM-focused college-ready education to grades 9-12 students with mastery-based grading, college credit programs, and career connected learning.
- MESA South Brooklyn Second MESA charter high school campus in Southwest Brooklyn, opened August 18, 2025, replicating the high-performing Bushwick model with a tight-knit family environment, rigorous instruction, and college and career preparation for grades 9-12.
- Alumni Lab Post-graduation support program that continues to assist MESA alumni after high school, including career preparation activities such as mock interviews with industry partners like Morgan Stanley.
- Digital Marketing Career Lab Career preparation program focused on digital marketing skills and workforce training to prepare MESA students and alumni for post-secondary success.
- Standards Based Grading System Mastery-based grading system where students are graded on their ability to master individual standards rather than weighted category averages, allowing reassessment and replacement of failing grades upon demonstrating improvement.
- E-Scores Bi-weekly effort reports tracking student performance in MESA Courage (community and culture), MESA Purpose (academics), and MESA Pride (attendance), with star rewards qualifying students for field trips.
- College Credit Programs (CLEP, AP, College Now, St. Francis College Partnership) College credit accumulation program offering CLEP exams, AP courses, College Now, and a partnership with St. Francis College allowing seniors to take college-credit-bearing math and writing classes, with potential to earn a full year's worth of college credits before high school graduation.
Quantifiable outcome
- 94% graduation rate
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use MESA Charter High School
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
MESA Charter High School technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
MESA Charter High School partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- St. Francis CollegecoreMESA partners with St. Francis College allowing seniors to take college-credit-bearing classes in math and writing. This partnership enables students to potentially earn up to a full year's worth of college credits while still in high school.
- Morgan StanleyminorMorgan Stanley participated in June volunteer month providing mock interviews with MESA's Alumni Lab, connecting students with industry leaders for career preparation and workforce development.
- Billion Oyster ProjectminorMESA chemistry students participated in an educational excursion to Governors Island with the Billion Oyster Project, providing hands-on experience in ecological research and real-world application of scientific concepts.
- College Level Equivalency Program (CLEP)coreMESA offers students opportunities to earn college credit through CLEP examinations, one of several pathways for accumulating college credits before graduation.
- College NowcoreMESA partners with College Now program allowing students to earn college credits through courses that count toward both high school and college requirements.
- Advanced Placement (AP) CoursescoreMESA offers AP Courses enabling students to earn college credit through AP examinations, part of the school's comprehensive college readiness program.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MESA Charter High School competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Uncommon Schools: NYC-based charter management organization operating multiple college-prep campuses in Brooklyn. Directly comparable as a Brooklyn-rooted charter network with similar academic outcomes focus and replication strategy.
- KIPP NYC: Part of the national KIPP charter network operating multiple schools in NYC, including Brooklyn. Comparable multi-campus college-prep charter model with similar per-pupil public funding and STEM/college readiness emphasis.
- Democracy Prep Public Schools: NYC charter network operating multiple campuses including high schools. Comparable as a multi-site public charter operator serving similar urban student populations with a college-prep focus.
- Achievement First: Charter management organization operating public charter schools in Brooklyn and across the Northeast. Comparable multi-site charter operator with similar college-prep mission and per-pupil funding structure.
- Ascend Learning: Brooklyn-based charter management organization operating multiple public charter schools. Comparable as a multi-site charter network with similar demographics and college-prep academic model.
- Success Academy Charter Schools: Largest NYC charter school network operating multiple K-12 campuses, including high schools in Brooklyn. Directly comparable multi-site charter model serving similar NYC families with comparable public funding economics.
- Harbor Science and Technology Charter School: NYC STEM-focused charter school. Directly comparable given MESA's explicit STEM college-prep mission and similar New York charter funding structure.
Others
- Bloomberg Philanthropies: Major philanthropic funder of NYC charter school networks and STEM/college-readiness programs. Adjacent as a donor ecosystem participant relevant to MESA's growth and partnership strategy.
- New York City Charter School Center: Sector-support organization for NYC charter schools. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that shapes the regulatory and funding environment in which MESA operates.
Regional players
- Brooklyn Prospect Charter School: Brooklyn-based charter school serving K-12. Comparable as a local Brooklyn charter operator competing for similar families, though it operates a single network rather than the planned multi-site MESA structure.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MESA Charter High School social profiles
Digital presenceMESA Charter High School financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MESA Charter High School leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles27 records
MESA Charter High School subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
MESA Charter High School funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MESA Charter High School M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MESA Charter High School
What does MESA Charter High School do?
MESA Charter High School is a public, nonprofit 501(c)(3) charter high school providing free, rigorous STEM-focused college preparatory education to grades 9-12 students across two Brooklyn campuses. Its core offering includes mastery-based Standards-Based Grading, college credit pathways (CLEP, AP, College Now, St. Francis College), experiential learning, and post-secondary workforce development through the Alumni Lab and Digital Marketing Career Lab, delivered with a 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Is MESA Charter High School a public or private company?
MESA Charter High School is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MESA Charter High School founded?
MESA Charter High School was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is MESA Charter High School based?
MESA Charter High School is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does MESA Charter High School make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Per-Pupil Government Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations and Philanthropy.
Who are MESA Charter High School's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Uncommon Schools, KIPP NYC, Democracy Prep Public Schools, Achievement First, Ascend Learning, Success Academy Charter Schools and Harbor Science and Technology Charter School. Others are Bloomberg Philanthropies and New York City Charter School Center. Brooklyn Prospect Charter School is listed as a regional player.
Does MESA Charter High School have an API?
No public API is recorded for MESA Charter High School.
What industry is MESA Charter High School in?
MESA Charter High School's product category is Public Charter Secondary Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJACAJ, Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools, with a secondary code of EDAJACAC, Charter School Networks (Multi-Site). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.