e3 Civic High

What e3 Civic High does

e3 Civic High is a public charter high school authorized in 2010 by the San Diego Unified School District and opened in fall 2013, serving approximately 450 students in grades 9-12 from across San Diego County. The school is uniquely co-located on floors 6 and 7 of the San Diego Central Library, occupying roughly 77,000 square feet organized into four learning villages and twenty studio classrooms equipped with 1:1 MacBook Air devices, smart classroom technology, and fabrication labs with 3D printing and laser cutting. Its educational model centers on a proprietary Design Thinking curriculum, a four-year Life Plan development program, and a defined Graduate Profile framework, all delivered by learning facilitators in small, studio-based settings.

The school offers two enrollment pathways: a traditional on-campus program and the Empower Independent Study Program, which allows flexible online learning while preserving access to extracurriculars, internships, and athletics. College and career readiness is operationalized through mandatory internships, A-G alignment, SAT participation, and university partnerships — most notably with UCSD via the Chancellors' Associates Scholarship program (100+ full-ride recipients) and Point Loma Nazarene University and San Diego City College. Athletics was added in 2026 with CIF membership enabling at least eight competitive teams.

e3 Civic High is a nonprofit public benefit corporation governed by an independent Board of Directors, with no venture capital or private equity ownership. Revenue is derived from California per-pupil apportionment (LCFF), federal Title I and special education funding, the federal Community Eligibility Provision meal program, and grant streams including ESSER III and Prop 28. Tuition is not charged; admission is lottery-based via the SchoolMint portal, and the school markets to families through campus tours, an annual Welcome to e3 Night, social media, and selective conference presence such as the ASU-GSV Summit.

Name

e3 Civic High

Legal name

e3 Civic High

Website

https://e3civichigh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

e3 Civic High is a nonprofit public charter high school in San Diego serving ~450 grades 9-12 students with a Design Thinking curriculum, co-located in the San Diego Central Library. It is funded by California per-pupil apportionment and grants, offers a free Empower Independent Study pathway, and operates under lottery-based admission.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Charter High School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Studies & Civics Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAI), Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC)

Keywords

• Public charter high school
• College preparatory education
• Design thinking curriculum
• Independent study program
• Civic engagement learning

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Per-Pupil Funding: Public charter school receives per-pupil funding from California state and federal sources based on average daily attendance. Additional funding through categorical programs like Title I, LCFF, and specialized services (Special Education, McKinney-Vento, Foster Youth support).
2. National School Breakfast and Lunch Program: Operates under Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), providing free meals to all enrolled students. School receives reimbursement through federal child nutrition programs.
3. Grant Funding: Receives funding through various grant programs including ESSER III, Education Protection Account, and Prop 28 arts funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

e3 Civic High is a free public charter high school serving grades 9-12, located within the San Diego Central Library. The school delivers college preparatory education through two pathways: a traditional on-campus program and the Empower Independent Study Program. Both programs use a Design Thinking curriculum and provide 1:1 MacBook Air devices, college and career readiness programming, professional internships, civic engagement opportunities, athletics, and individualized Life Plan development to approximately 450 students from across San Diego County.

Product overview

e3 Civic High operates as a single public charter high school offering two educational pathways: the traditional on-campus program and the Empower Independent Study Program. Both programs follow the Engage-Educate-Empower (e3) learning approach and provide access to the same core services including college preparation, career readiness, design thinking curriculum, internships, and extracurricular activities. The traditional program is housed within the San Diego Central Library, while Empower provides flexibility for online learning with campus access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• e3 Civic High Traditional Program A free public charter high school serving grades 9-12, offering in-person education on a campus co-located within the San Diego Central Library. The program delivers a Design Thinking curriculum, small class sizes, professional internships, civic engagement, athletics, Life Plan development, and comprehensive college/workforce preparation. Every scholar receives a 1:1 MacBook Air and access to fabrication labs and library resources.
• Empower Independent Study Program A flexible online independent study learning program allowing high school students to pursue education remotely while maintaining access to the main campus's extracurricular activities, clubs, internships, and athletics. Students receive a MacBook Air for educational use and follow the same Engage-Educate-Empower (e3) learning model. Open to all high school students in San Diego County.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of scholars apply to 4-year universities
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Uncharted Learning (IncubatorEDU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Uncharted Learning's IncubatorEDU program supporting student entrepreneurship. e3 scholars participate in Project Invent's Demo Day events and invention competitions through this partnership, developing innovative solutions to real-world problems.
• Point Loma Nazarene UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership providing higher education connections and pathways for e3 scholars. Supports college preparation and potential articulation agreements.
• UC San Diego (UCSD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong partnership with UCSD including the Chancellors' Associates Scholarship program. Over 100 e3 scholars have received full-ride scholarships through this program. UCSD represents a primary college destination for graduates.
• San Diego City CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with San Diego City College providing college preparation resources and potential transfer pathways for e3 scholars.
• San Diego Central LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partnere3 Civic High is co-located within the San Diego Central Library, gaining access to 1.2 million volumes, 400+ public computers, 22 Wi-Fi enabled study rooms, teen center, homework center, IDEA Lab, Hervey Family Rare Book Room, art gallery, and Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center. This is the foundational partnership enabling the school's unique urban learning model.
• ACE Mentorship ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization providing mentoring, instruction, camps, paid internships and scholarships to students pursuing careers in architecture, construction and engineering. e3 scholars participated in ACE Mentorship Showcase 2026, winning $13,000 in college scholarships.
• Top Notch CateringminorOthersFood service provider specializing in K-12 meals. Operates as a nut-free facility providing breakfast and lunch to all e3 scholars under the Community Eligibility Provision program.
• California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCIF membership enables e3 sports teams to compete against other CIF high schools. The school will have at least 8 sports teams competing in CIF starting 2026-27 school year.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Public Schools: Large national charter network focused on college-prep outcomes for underserved students. Comparable in mission (college access, outcomes-driven charter model) at much greater scale.
• Summit Public Schools: Network of public charter schools with project-based, personalized learning and strong post-secondary outcomes. Comparable to e3 in college-prep charter model and self-directed learning approach.
• Aspire Public Schools: California-based charter network preparing students for college. Comparable to e3 Civic High in California charter operating model and college-readiness mission.

Direct peers

• High Tech High: San Diego-based public charter school network with project-based learning, PBL, design thinking, and 1:1 device models. Directly comparable to e3 Civic High in pedagogy, demographics, and San Diego charter ecosystem.
• Design39Campus: Public K-8 school in San Diego serving as a design-thinking-focused campus with personalized learning. Comparable to e3 in design-thinking pedagogy and San Diego regional charter/independent school footprint.

Regional players

• Preuss School UCSD: UCSD-affiliated public charter middle and high school in San Diego serving first-generation college students. Comparable to e3 in San Diego charter ecosystem, college-prep mission, and UCSD partnership strength.
• Classical Academies: San Diego County public charter network with multiple campuses. Comparable to e3 as a regional Southern California charter competitor for the same student enrollment pool.
• Gompers Preparatory Academy: San Diego charter middle and high school focused on college readiness for underserved scholars. Comparable to e3 in underserved, college-prep charter positioning in the same San Diego market.

Emerging players

• Altus Schools: California public charter network offering independent study and online learning pathways. Comparable to e3's Empower Independent Study Program in model and California charter context.

Others

• Uncharted Learning (IncubatorEDU): Nonprofit provider of entrepreneurship and startup curricula for K-12 schools. Comparable as a content partner enabling e3's design-thinking and pitch competition outcomes rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/e3civichigh
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@e3CivicHigh_SanDiego
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e3civichigh
• Instagraminstagram.com/e3civichigh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 e3 Civic High