Life Academy High School of Health and Bioscience is a small public school in Oakland, California. Established in 2001, we serve 250 students of diverse backgrounds in grades 9 through 12.
Life Academy provides its students with a rigorous academic experience focused on health and bioscience. We aim to prepare students to become future health professionals, and are committed to providing authentic learning experiences through project-based learning, field trips, and extensive internship programs.
Our Mission:
Life Academy strives to provide an up-close-and-personal connection with, and academically-rigorous education for a diverse cross-section of Oakland youth. Through authentic learning experiences and a health and bioscience focus, all students will become active, lifelong learners and positive participants in their community.
Our Students:
Many students aim to be doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, biotechnicians, forensic scientists, veterinarians, and other health-related careers.
Most of our students come from the Fruitvale and San Antonio neighborhoods in East Oakland, though some students may travel from as far as San Jose and Vallejo in order to take advantages of the opportunities Life Academy provides. More than 94% of students qualify for free lunch.
Our Program:
Life Academy exists specifically to support students who have an interest in the fields of medicine, biotechnology, mental health, and other health-related career paths.
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All students select one of our career pathways: medicine, mental health, or biotechnology. |
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Life Academy has a major focus on biological sciences, and all students take extensive coursework related to biology. |
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Life Academy provides pathways to postsecondary study: all students have the opportunity to take advanced coursework in each career pathway area. |
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In preparation for higher education and success in their chosen fields, students are complete an internship with our Featured Partners, in locations like hospitals, bio-tech labs, schools, and community health programs. |
Life Academy has the highest UC and CSU acceptance rate of any high school in Oakland. Our graduates have gone on to universities and colleges like UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, UCLA, UC Davis, Smith College and San Francisco State.
For the 2006-2007 school year, Life Academy was given Oakland Unified School District awards for being the one school in the district with the:
- Highest Percentage (35%) of students prepared for college and the workplace
- Highest overall satisfaction ratings of parents and students (91.2%)
- Highest combined percent (80.3%) of students, parents, and teachers who agree that their school is a clean, healthy, safe learning environment
What makes Life Academy different?
• Personalized college counseling
and academic mentoring:
o On-site College and Career Information Center (CCIC)
o Personal advisors to mentor students throughout their time at Life
• Alternative Assessment: new ways of showing 'mastery'
Students at Life Academy aren’t just given a test on a piece of paper to show that they have mastered the subjects they are learning. Instead, there are several different presentations, projects, and exhibits that allow students to show what they have learned. This comes in the form of Exhibition Night, where students from all grades show what they have learned in the form of digital stories, posters, photography, professional presentations, art exhibits, and/or performances. Each grade-level also has their own exhibitions throughout the year, as well as major projects, presentations, and community-based performances, panel interviews and school events.
• Post-Session: an alternative method for earning Art / PE credits
The last three weeks of the school year are reserved for Post-session, full-time classes that allow students to earn a full semester of credit in either Art or Physical Education. Teachers and staff will join together, team-teaching electives such as: cooking, outdoor education, gardening and welding, service-learning, backpacking, dance, media studies, filmmaking, martial arts, triathlon fitness, cycling, and portraiture.
