Our School
Thomas Edison Charter Academy is a Transitional Kindergarten through eighth-grade elementary school serving more than 700 students. TECA is currently one of 18 charter schools operating within the city of San Francisco and has been authorized by the San Francisco Unified School District since 2010. TECA received its original authorization for a kindergarten through fifth-grade charter in 2001, and in 2004 expanded to include the sixth grade by a unanimous vote of the California State Board of Education, the previous authorizer of the TECA charter (SBE). In 2005, TECA expanded with its seventh-grade class and became a kindergarten through eighth-grade school in 2006. In 2011, TECA became its own independent non-profit, governed by its local board, as it remains today.
What It Means to be An Educated Person in the 21st Century
“Of all the civil rights for which the world has struggled and fought for 5,000 years, the right to learn is undoubtedly the most fundamental… The freedom to learn… We must insist upon this to give our children the fairness of a start that will equip them with such an array of facts and such an attitude toward truth that they can have a real chance to judge what the world is and what greater minds have thought it might be.”
Linda Darling-Hammond, “The Right to Learn” (1997, p. 1) from W. E. B. Du Bois, “The Freedom to Learn” ([1949] 1970b, pp.230 – 231)
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TECA Vision Statement
Thomas Edison Charter Academy provides a positive learning environment that promotes educational excellence and includes creative and performing arts for all students. Students will be motivated, accomplished, and self-sufficient participants in a diverse community of learners. We envision a school where students will learn to take ownership of their education and be prepared to be successful in high school and aspire to pursue college.
Our History
For the first six years, Edison Learning Incorporated (ELI) provided TECA's administrative structure and facilitated the educational design of the program, working with TECA's board of directors, executive director, and staff to implement its design at the local level. Over a three-year period from 2007 to 2010, TECA transitioned to a localized model based on the capacity that had been built among TECA's board, school leadership, and staff. In 2011, TECA became its own, independent non-profit, governed by its local board.
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TECA Mission Statement
The mission of Thomas Edison Charter Academy is to nurture the artistic, social, emotional, and intellectual growth of each child so that all of our students become lifelong learners and innovative problem solvers. The instructional process is a model of collaboration and community in a safe, socially just, and respectful environment. Student experiences provide opportunities for exploration, expression, challenge, and success.
District office hours
School Hours
Breakfast: 8:20 a.m.
Dismissal: 3:00 p.m.
Early Dismissal Wednesdays: 1:00 p.m.